Spanish Kale

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

Melissa Clark's Instant Pot Lentils

This is one of my favorite ways to cook lentils, and I cook lentils a lot. If there are lentils in the fridge, I feel like we have something to eat. We typically enjoy these with some combination of chicken or chicken sausage, sweet potato oven fries, quinoa, salad and/or Spanish kale. I also sometimes eat these lentils in a cabbage leaf with some hot sauce, kind-of as an odd taco, but (at our house anyway) that’s just me…

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Melissa Clark’s Instant Pot Lentils
Adapted, only very slightly, from the Smoky Lentils + Sausage recipe in Dinner in an Instant by Melissa Clark

Notes: If I’m cooking mostly for myself and/or for incidental meals as needed, I’ll make the 1 1/2 cup version. But if I’m making these for our family dinner and would also like some leftovers for the next couple days, I’ll go for the 2 cup version. Iif you have celiac disease or are otherwise very sensitive to gluten, be sure to pick over your lentils to check for any gluten grains. Some batches will have quite a few hiding out in there. Rinse in a strainer when finished.

Special equipment:
Instant Pot or other pressure cooker

1 1/2 cups of dry lentils version:
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
Generous 2 3/4 cups filtered water
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or to taste

2 cups of dry lentils version:
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/3 cup dry red wine
2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
3 3/4 cups filtered water
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or to taste

Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function, pour in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion and sauté for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. I like for the onions to soften quite a bit in this step. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, stirring frequently. Grind in some black pepper, add the smoked paprika, quickly stir, then pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add the lentils, water and thyme sprigs and cook on high pressure for 11 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Once the pressure is completely released, open the lid and discard the thyme sprigs. Add sea salt and apple cider vinegar to taste and serve.

1 1/2 cup version serves 6-8.

2 cup version serves 8-10.

Simply Cooked Lentils

These are simple, fragrant, “general purpose” lentils. They go well with salads, cultured vegetables, bread or flatbread, or roasted chicken. They're also good on a green cabbage leaf, drizzled with a little hot sauce, sort-of as an odd taco if you're into it.

This is a fun recipe for small kids to help with, since everything goes into the pot before it goes on the heat. Once you’ve prepped the veggies, they can toss them in.

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Simply Cooked Lentils
Adapted from the Lentils & Beets with Salsa Verde recipe (pg 143) in A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones.

Notes: If you are gluten-free, pick through your lentils to make sure there aren't any gluten grains in there. I usually find at least one or two; the other day I found 12(!). Then rinse well in a fine-mesh strainer. Also, cooking times for lentils (and other legumes) can vary quite a bit so you may want to check your lentils around 30 minutes. But don't be alarmed if they cook for the full 50 minutes, or even a bit longer.

2 cups green lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 medium/large carrot or 2 small carrots, diced
5 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
1 bay leaf
Several large sprigs of fresh thyme
3 3/4 cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste

Generous drizzle of olive oil to finish (optional)

Place the lentils, onion, carrots, garlic cloves, bay leaf, thyme and water into a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 40-50 minutes, or until the water is absorbed and the lentils are cooked through.

When the lentils are finished cooking, remove the bay leaf and thyme stalks. If most of the thyme leaves are still on the stalks, I usually strip the stalks and put the leaves back into the dish. Next, mash the garlic cloves with the back of a fork (I do this on the side of the saucepan), and add the salt and apple cider vinegar (or lemon). Stir until combined. Taste and adjust the salt and acidity levels as desired. Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and enjoy!