Sauteed Kale with Smoked Paprika

Do you ever have one of those days where you just feel crummy? The Brain is having one of those days. He's been trying to shake a nasty cold/flu bug for a couple days now. So tonight I cooked him the equivalent of vegetable steroids. Kale!

Kale, a delicious leafy green member of the cabbage family is a great way to get your calcium in if you happen to drink a lot of soda which leaches it from your bones, or if you don't like milk or dairy products, or are allergic or intolerant to them. Kale is also really high in iron so it's a great thing for women to eat. If you smoke and take a multivitamin less of the iron will be absorbed than if you didn't smoke, so kale is great for smokers too. It's also really high in Vitamin A, Fiber, Manganese and Vitamin C. According to Wikipedia, Kale is "considered to be one of the most highly nutritious vegetables, with powerful antioxidant properties and is anti-inflammatory."

Unfortunately all that dark green leafy goodness doesn't always taste so great. I've had kale where I ended up forcing it down by pretending I was stranded on a desert island and I had to eat seaweed to survive. (I have an active imagination.) To sum up, kale tastes very bad when overcooked. BUT if you don't overcook it, and you mix it with some sauteed onions, olive oil and smoked paprika it tastes seriously good. I'm ridiculously proud of myself that I gave the Brain half the kale and I had a pork chop. I would have been satisfied with just eating all of the kale for dinner. Even the Brain liked it.

So thank you Bon Appetit magazine, again, for the February issue. There are tons of great recipes in this magazine people and I'm not going to cook all of them. So go get your issue today!

Sauteed Kale with Smoked Paprika

from Bon Appetit

8 cups (packed) kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped (from about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Generous pinch of dried crushed red pepper

Cook Kale in large pot of boiling salted water until wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to colander; drain. It should be bright green in color.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and crushed red pepper; sprinkle with salt. Add kale and saute until heated through, about 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more smoked paprika, if desired. Transfer to serving bowl; drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and serve.