BY MYRA KOHN
Recipe adapted from Susan Kaplan Boat Street Cafe & Kitchen
8-10 Servings start to finish: 70 minutes
from Edible Seattle September/October 2010
According to Susan Kaplan, “kale goes with almost any meat—steak, burgers, roast pork, chicken, liver, and fatty things—as the bitterness cuts the fat. It goes well with pickled raisins, roasted tomatoes, corn bread, polenta, and potatoes; with vinegary things too.” This dish is perfect on its own as a vegetarian lunch option but it also makes a lovely side dish. We loved it with grilled, thick cut pork chops with homemade stone fruit and strawberry compote and a glass of Torrontés. The wine worked very well with the slightly bitter greens.
Recipe
4 bunches of kale
2 cups heavy cream
3 eggs
1 tablespoon Dijon (extra-strong) mustard
1/2 pound sharp Cheddar (Cabot)
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Rinse greens and dry well by rolling in paper towels. Remove the main rib (stem) with a paring knife, kitchen scissors or tear out by hand. Cut into smallish pieces. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, heavy cream and mustard, and set aside.
Put half of the prepared kale into a heavy ovenproof casserole dish, and salt and pepper generously. Pour half of the custard over the seasoned kale. Pack the rest of the kale, season again, and top with remaining custard. Slice the cheddar cheese and place on top. Bake in middle oven rack for 40 minutes or until the top is slightly crispy. Serve at once.
Myra’s Notes: Susan recommends a large Pyrex dish for the gratin, although at the restaurant they also use other types of casserole dishes. I had a Le Creuset cast iron 3.5 quart buffet casserole at hand, so that is what I used. It was big enough for the kale. Boat Street’s gratin is slightly thicker than mine.
There were 3 different varieties of kale available at the market when we shopped for the ingredients. I opted for my favorite, Lacinato, which has dark leaves and a wonderful and satisfyingly chewy texture.
Watch the cheese. Susan suggests to, “cook it until the bulk of it is cooked—if the top gets brown too fast, just cover it loosely.” I used a sheet of parchment paper for the last 10 minutes.
*Vegetarian
*Gluten-Free