Cooking a dinosaur

Did I mention that [The Man I Love] loves vegetables in the brassica family? That's cabbages to you - the whole cabbage clan. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, mustard greens and kale.

Last week at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market I picked up a bunch of kale - a variety called Tuscan black kale. It's also called nero di Toscano, lacinato, cavolo nero, and dinosaur kale.


Kale is rich in folic acid, Vitamin K and Vitamin C and beta carotene, so it's good for you. Unlike the frilled and ruffled Siberian kales and ornamental kale, cavolo nero has narrow leaves with pebbly-textured foliage in a deep blue-green color. I don't know why it's called "dinosaur" - maybe its texture is supposed to be like the giant reptiles' skin.


To prepare it, strip the thick central stem from the leaves. Then chop it as fine or as rough as you like. I chopped it into pieces about 1" by 2".

Greens like kale, collards and mustard have a bitterness that is complimented by rich fat. Cooking bitter greens with pork is a tradition in many cultures.


In Tuscany, the pork of choice is pancetta - a salt-cured pork belly like bacon. In U.S. supermarkets, you find it sliced from a roll - like a spiral of bacon.

Chop the pancetta and saute it in olive oil until it's brown. While the pancetta browns, I chopped up an onion and peeled three cloves of garlic, and smashed them with a knife blade. When the pancetta is just a bit crispy, I took it out and put the onions and garlic into the combined fat from the pancetta and the olive oil. If there's too much fat, pour some of it out.


Let the onions and garlic cook over medium heat until they are golden - about 15 - 20 minutes. Then, add the chopped kale, and about a cup of broth - chicken broth is good, but you can use any nice broth.


With the greens and broth, add a teaspoon or so of dried thyme, a couple of bay leaves, and some chopped parsley.


Bring it all to a boil, and then cover it and cook for about an hour. You can keep it at a simmer on the stove or you can cook it in a 350 degree oven.


When its done, the kale is deep dark green and smells rich and flavorful. The taste is intense, dark, with a touch of bitterness that's a perfect foil to meat. We served it alongside a roast pork tenderloin. The next day, we cooked some pasta, and tossed it with butter and the warmed-up leftover kale.


Black Tuscan kale. It's good and it's good for you.