I was recently the recipient of two gorgeous bunches of organic Lacinato kale from SunCoast Organics. You might know it as dinosaur kale, Tuscan kale or cavolo nero. It’s the kind that has long, dark, embossed, plume-like leaves as opposed to its curly-leafed cousins. Lacinato kale has a slightly sweeter and more delicate taste than curly kale, and is lovely in soups, stews or even salads.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy kale is in Caldo Verde, a Portuguese soup made with greens, potatoes and smoky chouriço sausage. It’s a hearty, rustic dish that I make often. But for this kale, I wanted to try something new. I found the perfect recipe on Molly’s site, and I ran with it.
Boiled Kale with a Fried Egg and Toast is the simplest of simple dishes, yet it is so incredibly delicious. It’s just kale, simmered in chicken stock with onions, and served on toast with a luscious, gooey, runny fried egg on top. If you’re feeling really daring like I was, you can also fry up some bacon to toss in the mix. No fancy bells and whistles here. Yet, once I began thinking about this guileless little dish, I couldn’t stop!
The first thing you have to do is prepare the kale, by trimming off the tough stems, rinsing it like crazy and cutting it into ribbons.
Next, you sauté some onions and wilt the kale. Then, add chicken or vegetable stock and simmer it all, slowly, until the kale is soft and tender. I forgot to take a picture of this part. I guess I was too excited about the impending bacon fry.
Everything’s better with bacon – especially fried eggs. They’ve been going steady for years.
Where there’s bacon, there’s bacon fat. Slide a few farm fresh eggs right down into some. If you don’t use bacon, just fry the eggs in good old olive oil.
Plop a nice, thick slice of toasted bread in a bowl, ladle on some kale, toss on a little bacon and top with one of those pretty fried eggs – or two. I sprinkled some shredded Parmesan on top of mine too.
Oh, baby! It just doesn’t get much better than this, people! Come on – be honest. Could you resist this?
Boiled Kale with a Fried Egg and Toast
from the Zuni Café Cookbook via Orangette
Ingredients:
1 pound kale
5 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water
4 thick slices of country bread
4 eggs
Olive oil
4 slices thick-cut bacon
Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano, grated for sprinkling
Preparation:
Prepare the kale by trimming away any discolored spots and removing the tough ribs and stems from the leaves. To chiffonade the leaves, stack 3 or 4 at a time on top of each other, roll them up and then slice them into 1/4-inch-thick ribbons. Dump the sliced kale into a bowl or salad spinner and soak in cold water. Swish it around a bit to loosen any dirt and grit. Let stand for a minute or two, drain and rinse again. Spin dry or pat dry with paper towels.
In a large saucepan or stock pot, heat the 5 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are tender, but still firm. Add the red pepper flakes, garlic and the kale, and stirring until the kale is fully wilted. Add stock to cover the kale. Bring to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer until the kale is tender but not mushy, about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
While kale is simmering, fry up the bacon in a skillet. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
When kale is finished cooking, fry the eggs in the skillet with a few tablespoons of the remaining bacon fat.
To serve, toast one slice of bread per person. While still hot, lightly rub both sides of the toast with raw garlic. Place the toast in the bottom of a wide soup bowl. Pile some kale onto the toast in each bowl with some of its juices. Strew some bacon into each bowl. Drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and top each with a fried egg. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top and serve.
Enjoy!
Filed Under: Bacon, Cooking, Eggs, Healthy Eating, Quick and Easy, Recipes, Vegetables
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On August 19, 2010 at 1:46pm, Eliana said...
What an all around glorious looking dish. I love it.
On August 19, 2010 at 4:03pm, nina said...
Does a fried egg not make any food look good? For me the star has to be the egg, but overall, this is a meal that would get my attention!!
On August 19, 2010 at 4:17pm, Rachel (S[d]OC) said...
Lovely simple dish. I love how the bacon peeks through so tantalizingly!
On August 19, 2010 at 4:39pm, Rosa said...
That looks so delicious! Very healthy and comforting.
Cheers,
Rosa
On August 19, 2010 at 8:30pm, jeanne dyson said...
Your photos are the BEST!! I know it’s simple, but it looks so “gourmet” and like something we had at Dom Sebastiano in Portugal..Caldo Verde is one of our favorite soups too, I think my husband’s favorite!! Try it with sweet potatoes sometime, different, but really good too!!
On August 19, 2010 at 11:55pm, Betty said...
I definitely could not resist that! That kale is gorgeous, and the egg on top is too!
On August 20, 2010 at 12:47pm, momgateway said...
looks so fancy but home cooking at it’s best…and it’s healthy!
On August 20, 2010 at 4:08pm, 5 Star Foodie said...
Such a yummy kale dish, wonderful with fried egg & bacon!
On August 21, 2010 at 9:51am, Joan Nova said...
Nope. Not me. I couldn’t resist.
On August 21, 2010 at 3:08pm, Jessica said...
Oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about! Seriously, this looks so tasty and I love the simplicity of it. Yum!
On August 21, 2010 at 9:43pm, Cooking Gallery said...
The fried egg looks so tasty…! I love sunny side up on top of a toast!
On August 24, 2010 at 6:27pm, Gratefully Gluten Free said...
O.K., I am going to be honest… I have never had kale! I had no idea what to expect but this was fantastic! I had heard kale can be bitter but this dish was fabulous and so simple. I am gluten free so I used some homemade gluten free bread with sorghum that I had just taken out of the bread machine, toasted it and the rest is history baby! Thanks so much for introducing me to something new and simple
On August 31, 2010 at 5:57pm, Kate @ savour fare said...
This looks to me like a perfect weeknight supper dish, but then I’m a kale fanatic. It was so lovely to see you again at IFBC — I wish we could have had longer to chat.