Making Our Dinners KALE'a licious!

Matt suggested we start to “KALE’ify” all our dinners. It’s no secret we both love the dark green leafy vegetable so it was a no-brainer to begin adding it to absolutely everything. And there was no better time than St. Paddy’s Day to start getting our green on (and in!)

The following recipes are perfect for Meatless Mondays and Whole Food Wednesdays ... any night of the week, really. They are easy to make, fantastically healthful and plant-strong. Best of all, they are both kale'a licious and taste great!

Cuban Black Beans, Rice and Kale, inspired by Three Guys from Miami

(Seriously, the best black beans and rice we’ve ever had.)

Ingredients

1 ½ cups black beans, dried

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 white onion, diced
2 green peppers, seeded and diced
6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
4 ½ vegetable broth
3 cups black rice (or brown)

Kale (about 5 cups or more), torn into bite-sized pieces

Cover the dry beans with about four cups water in a two-quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil for three minutes. Remove from the heat and let it stand, covered for one hour.

Drain and rinse the beans. Add enough water to cover once again and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and cook until tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Drain.

Rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear.

Use a large covered stockpot, sauté the onion and green pepper in olive oil until tender.

Add the garlic and sauté another minute or two. Add the tomato paste, black beans, oregano, cumin, bay leaf and vinegar. Cook for about five minutes, stirring gently.

Add the vegetable broth and the rinsed rice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20-30 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked.

Add kale. Stir gently until wilted.

Remove the bay leaf. Serve hot.

Chef Roberto Martin’s Black Bean Soup (<-- love his cookbook)

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 large white onion

2 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon of ground cumin

3 plum tomatoes, dices

3 15 ounce cans of black beans, rinsed

5 cups vegetable broth

Bunch of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces

Garnish

Avocado, diced

Pico De Gallo (recipe follows)

Heat a large stockpot over high heat, add oil and wait until it shimmers. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic, oregano and cumin and cook 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes, beans and broth and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes.

While the soup simmers, make the Pico De Gallo (recipe below).

Purée half the soup in a Vitamix or high speed blender until smooth. Return the puréed mixture to the remaining soup in the pot and stir to combine. Add kale, stir until wilted.

Ladle into bowls, garnish with pico and diced avocado.

Pico De Gallo

1 bunch of cilantro, minced

½ red onion, diced small

8 firm plum tomatoes, centers removed, diced medium

Juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, membrane removed, dice (optional)

Salt and pepper (optional)

Mix the first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, if you like.

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