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This recipe was mentioned in one of my CSA newsletters a month or two ago, and ever since then, I've been meaning to post it. It's a delicious and very healthy way to cook kale: meat- and dairy-free, with wonderful flavors and tons of vitamins. I've only made it with kale, but I suspect that it would work well with other cooking greens. In fact, I'm going to be trying it with chard in a few days.
Tequila-braised kale
From The Spirited Vegetarian (Paulette Mitchell)
serves 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/3 cup tequila
- 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 medium sweet onion, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices (about 1 cup)
- 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper, or to taste
Directions
- Combine sun-dried tomatoes and boiling water in small bowl. Soak about 10 minutes, or until softened. Drain, reserving liquid. Use kitchen scissors to cut tomatoes into matchstick strips.
- Stem the kale, if necessary, and chop it coarsely.
- To make braising liquid, combine tequila, vinegar and tomato liquid in a small bowl.
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it just begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add cumin seeds and garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
- Add kale and stir until coated with oil.
- Add braising liquid, tomatoes and chickpeas. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until kale is tender, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Stir in lime juice, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- Serve with couscous, if you like.
8 comments:
Tequila, eh?? I'll probably give this a try in the upcoming months.
I'm sure to get some kale in my organic food box . . . so it will be nice to have this recipe at the ready. The tequila is an interesting touch.
The tequila is a little out-of-the ordinary, I agree. Frankly, I sort of doubt that it's really crucial to the dish, so don't rush out to buy any just for this one recipe.
The tequila is a little out-of-the ordinary, I agree. Frankly, I sort of doubt that it's really crucial to the dish, so don't rush out to buy any just for this one recipe.
I'm making this next week. This is what I've been having a hankering for.
I would totally agree that the tequila is not crucial to the mix (although the basting liquid smells nice...). I think you could substitute the tequila+lime juice+vinegar + even the sundried tomatoes with canned, chopped tomatoes (the dish reminded me of a more sweet and sour channa masala, which is what David thought it was a variant of when he came home and ate it).
I'll also probably put in more greens the next time I make this (my chard kind of disappeared into a few bits, like a ton of spinach has a tendency to do when cooked).
But anyway, great dish! And good over quinoa. I like the greens + chickpea combo.
One more comment on this:
The leftovers were indeed fabulous (and light).
Also, I made channa masala this weekend, and eating the leftovers of that dish now, I will say that it is very different from this chickpea dish --so, I think if you have tequila, sundried tomatoes, lime juice, and vinegar around, definitely use them instead of substituting them with canned tomatoes.
Finally, I actually like this dish better with chard than kale...but my bias for chard might be what's making me feel that way.
Interesting note about the channa masala. I'll have to make that at some point--it sounds good! And I'm glad you liked it. It's one of my favorite things to make lately. I have a lot of greens in this week's box, so at I'll be making this at least once. The greens definitely cook down. I use one large bunch of greens to one can of chickpeas, and I often feel like I should add more greens.
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