Kale, a member of the cabbage family, is a great side accompaniment to many a wintry dish.  After you remove the stems from the leaves, like you would for Collard Greens or Swiss Chard, the leaves cook almost like spinach.  In fact, in many ways kale is superior to cooking with spinach – it retains its structure and robust flavor better, especially since spinach tends to become an indistinguishable mass.  Plus, kale is even healthier than cabbage, at least in my opinion!

Kale rarely stands on its own.  I doubt any of you have ever sat down and said, “You know what I could use right now?  Some kale!”  It’s usually served with other dishes or in soups.  Perhaps it was due to habit that I served roasted kale as an accompaniment to dinner, as shown above.

Still, don’t overlook kale.  It can be served as a quick afternoon snack all by itself.  If you have company over, or you have kids that want cookies and chips, Roasted Kale is your alternative.  No one will jump up and down in anticipation, but once they’ve had a tasty, cripsy bite, in the words of the old Lays commercials, “you can’t eat just one. ”

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