Swimming in Kale

It's July. And my Kale just keeps on growing and growing and growing and growing.

We are eating it in salads, drinking it in smoothies, sneaking it into anything cooked, and packing the freezer with pureed cubes for the off season. My freezer is so stuffed with bagged green cubes and homemade granola, there is not much room left for anything else.

My friend shared this recipe with me for Kale burgers - which happen to be both vegetarian and vegan. I made them last night and they not only fit the bill perfectly for real food, but they were also surprisingly delicious!!!

Kale Burgers

INGREDIENTS

1 large bunch kale, well-washed and mostly dried

sea salt

1 large tomato, chopped

1 tablespoon almond butter or tahini

1/2 teaspoon garlic or 1 clove garlic

1/2 teaspoon coriander

cayenne to taste (if you like)

heaping 1/4 cup almond meal (I ground my own and ended up using much more than they said here)

heaping 1/4 cup flour

olive oil (I used coconut oil instead)

[1] Remove stems and chop kale into very thin ribbons; sprinkle with sea salt and gently massage; let rest 15 minutes. The kale will turn a bright green and soften. Meanwhile in a food processor or blender combine the tomato, tahini or almond butter, garlic and coriander. If your tomato is not super juicy, add a tablespoon or two of water.

[2] In a large saucepan heat a little oil. Add the kale and sauté for a minute; then add 1/2 cup or so of water and cover loosely. Let cook 5 to 8 minutes (the fresher the kale the shorter the cook time) until it’s just wilting but not totally limp. Transfer kale (leave behind any remaining water in the pan) to large bowl. Meanwhile mix the almond meal and flour in a small bowl. If desired, you could add a little cayenne to this mix too.

[3] After it cools enough to handle, add 2/3 of the kale to the blender with the tomato mixture and blend. You don’t want it to get too smooth; maybe pulse on and off for a minute or two. Transfer this blended mix back into the large bowl with the reserved kale and mix it all together, adding a couple of tablespoons of the flour/almond meal mix too. You should be able to make patties from this mix that hold together fairly well. If too wet, add more flour/almond meal; if too dry, drizzle in some olive oil or water. Form six burgers and coat each burger in the remaining flour/almond meal.

[4] Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a non-stick frying pan. Cook each burger for 4 minutes on each side, adding more oil if need be. They will get a nice crunchy outside with a hot, tasty middle. Serve and enjoy. (http://veggiegrettie.com/2011/03/18/kale-burger-guest-post/)

Here's how mine turned out, topped with goat cheese, real mustard, a tomato, avocado, and grilled onions and red pepper on a whole wheat bun. 

 Our vegan friends skipped the goat cheese, but they loved the burgers anyway!

 More kale burger love (and other kinds of love) going on at this side of the table...

I am loving finding new ways to prepare the food that we are growing. It makes cooking good food a lot more fun! 

Next up in the garden is zucchini and squash. Can't wait!