Creamed kale is a lot like creamed spinach, but the nutrient profile is a bit different. Spinach is rich in folate, iron, and magnesium. If you're trying to get more vitamin C, K, and calcium into your body, pivot to kale. Or use both.
I recommend Tuscan kale, also known as dinosaur (dino), Lacinato, or black kale. The leaves are dark, green, and bumpy, and it has a milder, less bitter taste compared to the curly kale varieties.
Sautéing the kale will soften it and remove the bitterness. I usually add the kale to the stockpot to sauté with the onions for six minutes or so, and then test to see if it's tender enough before turning the heat off. The kale will shrink down as it sautés but you do want a large stockpot to fit all that kale at the beginning.
To get the kale really tender without sautéing, you can use the technique I use when making kale pesto: heat up a large pot of boiling water, turn off the heat and drop the kale leaves (stems removed) and soak for a few minutes. The kale becomes tender and loses all bitterness. Drain the leaves, cool for a bit, and then chop into bite-size pieces. Then add the kale to the sautéed onions and proceed with the rest of the recipe. And if you use this technique you don't need as large of a pot.
For nut-free folks, you can use soaked sunflower seeds instead of cashews. I often soak my cashews or sunflower seeds ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator for a few days.
Peggy Jubert says
Hi! thanks for this recipe, really appealing. I wonder what other nut could work here, as cashews are not so good for digestion... ?
Hi Peggy, you can sub the cashews with sunflower seeds, soaked. They're not the same flavor as cashews but similar. I haven't tried another nut yet, but you could soak blanched almonds (skins removed) and then follow the directions for the cashew cream, replacing the cashews with almonds.
Elizabeth Schaffhauser says
I am a fan of kale, as are some family members, so I was excited to see the recipe for creamed kale in time for Thanksgiving meal planning. A bonus was the alternative use of sunflower seeds for the raw cashews since I was cooking for a “no nut diet.”
My comments:
1). It would be helpful provide a weight for the amount of kale called for. How does one differentiate between large and small bunches? Ounces and/or grams at least provides some objective standard to go by.
2)Were raw sunflower seeds called for in the cream? I think they would provide a different flavor profile than I got from using hulled sunflower seeds.
As made, the recipe was not a star, but I would consider making it again just for a change of pace from our go-to kale salad recipe.
Hey Elizabeth, thanks for the feedback. I also made this and it was well received. I used cashews. For the kale weight, I do have 32 ounces for frozen so that can give you some idea, however kale bunches vary in size and weight. I added about 32 ounces but it could be a bit lower or higher than this. It also depends on how wet the kale leaves are, however the recipe is forgiving on weight of the kale, so it's a starting point. I also added "raw" in front of sunflower seeds, which is the same as the cashews. Roasted would give a different flavor but I imagine it could be used as well. Please feel free to ask questions before embarking on a recipe.