This is what I call Spanish kale, one of my favorite go-to dishes. It comes together really quickly and requires minimal fuss. I’ve written measurements below, but I seldom actually measure anything. I toast a handful of pine nuts, then add a glug of olive oil, generously shake in some smoked paprika and toss in the kale. It’s a wonderful addition to lunch bowls with some grain, protein and hummus, but it goes with so many different things. It’s shown here with some Banza gluten-free mac ‘n cheese (boxed) because I’m slowly learning that sometimes kids need an element of fun added to their plates (it’s only taken me 7 years :). This meal has been a summer lunch favorite at our house, kale and all.
You’ll see when you make this that the kale cooks down very quickly. This recipe is written for one bunch, but our family can easily eat two bunches in one sitting so feel free to scale up. And stock up on kale :)
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Spanish Kale
Note: The only two “tricks” to this recipe are to not let the pine nuts burn, and to have your kale chopped and ready before adding the olive oil and smoked paprika. I toss the kale into the pan immediately after the olive oil and smoked paprika and stir right away to cool things down so the olive oil doesn’t smoke and the paprika doesn’t burn. Also, I generally use Lacinato kale here (also called Tuscan, black or dinosaur kale), but it can be made with curly kale with good results.
Handful of raw pine nuts
Glug of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
I bunch Lacinato kale, de-stemmed and sliced into 1/4 inch ribbons
Sea salt to taste
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and toss in the pine nuts. Dry toast, stirring every so often, for several minutes until they are darker in color and smell nice and toasty. Turn the heat down to medium-low, add in a glug of olive oil and the smoked paprika, then very quickly toss in the kale and give everything a good stir. Season with sea salt and continue to sauté, stirring continuously, for a minute or so until the kale collapses just a bit and is evenly coated with olive oil and smoked paprika. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve alongside whatever you like and enjoy :)
Serves 2-4
