Edible ornamental kale
Who knew you could actually eat ornamental kale? I sure didn’t. For this week’s post, I was struggling to figure out what to make. Our gardens are looking a little sad and a little frost-bitten. When Elaine Johnson, our associate food editor, suggested I cook up some ornamental kale bordering our garden path, I jumped at the chance. Here’s the beauty I picked from the garden:
I chose to prepare the kale very simply:
Buttery ornamental kale
1 head ornamental kale, thoroughly washed and torn into pieces
Salt, to taste
About 1 tbsp. butter
1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan (fill the pan about 3/4 full, as you would when cooking pasta). Add a generous amount of salt (any type will do). Add kale and stir to submerge (I used tongs because I find them handy for turning large amounts of greens).
2. Cook kale, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Pour kale into a colander to drain. Add butter to saucepan and return kale to pan. Stir to coat kale with butter and add more salt to taste. That’s it!
How’s that for a super-simple side dish?!
Here are some other great greens to try.
Yes, i do agree with Sharon about growing Toscano!!
Even though you can eat ornamental kale, it’s not what I’d plant if my intention all along was to eat it. There are a lot tastier varieties. So, Mike, I’d say your advice to your parents isn’t really off track.
Tell them to grow Toscano, aka dinosaur kale. With its dark blue-green crinkly leaves, it is very pretty in the garden. And is a really delicious kale.
Whoa, so you can eat ornamental kale? I was telling my parents how dumb they were for growing the ornamental instead of the edible version. Whoops. Won’t be sharing this article with them.
Easy peasy. BTW, do you have to cook it, or just taste better that way? Matti