By adding a hearty kale stew to your daily menu, you can benefit from its health and tasty properties every day. Add this nutrient-rich ingredient to hearty stews to support your body with vitamins and minerals. Combining it with vegetables, meat or even seafood makes kale a versatile option for preparing delicious meals. Discover some easy kale stew recipes below and enjoy your own creations as lunch or dinner during the fall season or winter.
Good reasons to prepare kale stew for every taste
Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, like cabbage,Broccoli and cauliflower, and has large, edible leaves with a hard central stem. The vegetable is typically dark green in color, but can also be found in a variety of colors, including purple. The edges of the leaves are either flat or wavy. When you buy kale, you will usually find it sold whole or pre-cut, which can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. In addition, the cruciferous vegetable contains four times the vitamin C and twice the selenium content of spinach and other nutrients such as vitamin E and beta-carotene. These can be especially for theSupporting a healthy immune systembe advantageous.
Kale also contains many of the minerals that are often missing from a modern diet. The vegetable is also a good source of plant-based calcium, which is important for strong bones and teeth. It has low levels of a natural compound called oxalate, which makes calcium more available for absorption. The plant is also a good source of vitamin K, which studies show works with vitamin D to support healthy bone metabolism. Other good reasons to use kale in the kitchen include its positive effects on heart and eye health. So it may be worth adding kale to your daily menu, and here are some easy ways to do so.
Italian-style pork and kale stew
Need a warm meal for chilly evenings? Put together this slow-cooked stew that you can make with fresh sweet potatoes, kale, and Italian seasonings. The shredded pork is so tender that this dish is ideal for everyday consumption.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 cups chopped fresh kale
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 boneless pork shoulder roast (1 to 1.5 kilos)
- 1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cans vegetable or chicken broth
- Sour cream, optional
Preparation:
- First, place the sweet potatoes, kale, onion, and garlic in a pot.
- Then add the roast pork on top of the vegetables and add beans and spices.
- Then pour the broth over it.
- Cook the kale stew, covered, over low heat until the meat is tender.
- After cooking, remove the meat and let the dish cool slightly.
- Then skim the fat from the cooking juices.
- Shred the pork with 2 forks and return it to the pot.
- Let the whole thing simmer for a while and garnish with sour cream if you like when serving.
Kale stew with couscous and meatballs
This is an easy recipe to make to warm up when you have a cold or flu. Plus, this is a dish that only takes 25 minutes to prepare, making it a perfect weeknight meal. This kale stew is also low in calories and can become a healthy part of your diet.
Ingredients:
- 450 g lean minced meat
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons rapeseed oil
- 150 – 200 g kale
- approx. 1 liter of vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pack of pearl couscous
Preparation:
- First, mix ground beef, basil, oregano, and salt in a small bowl.
- Then form meatballs out of half of the mixture.
- Then fry the dumplings in a large pan until browned.
- First, remove the meatballs and set them aside on paper towels.
- Then fry the onions in the same pan and add vegetables and kale.
- Sauté the ingredients for about 6-7 minutes or until wilted.
- Next, combine the vegetable mixture, meatballs, broth, vinegar, red pepper flakes, and pepper in a shallow roasting pan.
- Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat.
- Then let the dish simmer, covered, for another 10 minutes, bringing it back to the boil while you stir in the couscous.
- Again, reduce the heat and simmer covered again, stirring the stew once, until the couscous is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
Combine kale with chickpeas and sausage as a stew
This is another idea that can turn into a favorite for your family. It takes less than 45 minutes before you can serve the stew on the table. However, you can double the prep time for this recipe to let the flavors meld and make the dish even better the next day.
Ingredients:
- approx. 500 g smoked sausages, cut into thin slices
- 3 medium potatoes, diced
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 bunch kale, trimmed and torn
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon each pepper and salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
- Chickpeas, 1 can, rinsed and drained
- approx. 1 liter of chicken broth
Preparation:
- First, cook the sausage, potatoes, and onions with oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Next, add the kale and cook, covered, for another 2-3 minutes or until the kale is wilted.
- First add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Then add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Then reduce the heat and let the stew cover and simmer for another 9-12 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
- Finally, remove the bay leaves and serve the dish warm.
Prepare vegan kale stew with lentils and zucchini
The combination of lentils and chickpeas boosts the protein and fiber content of this recipe, making it incredibly satisfying. In addition, it is worth testing the dish on the meat eaters in your home. As for the kale, stir it in toward the end. Even though kale is a heartier, fibrous leafy green, adding it sooner will overcook it, which can cause it to lose some of its nutrients.
Ingredients:
- 2 tsp virgin olive oil
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 white onion
- 1 cup carrots, sliced
- 1 teaspoon each dried basil, oregano and parsley
- 1 cup brown lentils (preferably soaked for a few hours beforehand)
- 1 can of diced tomatoes with the sauce
- 2 cups diced zucchini
- 2 cups of water
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
- 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 2 cups de-stemmed, loosely packed kale
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
preparation
- First heat the olive oil over medium heat for 1 minute and then add the garlic, onion and carrots.
- Sauté the ingredients for 2 minutes or until the onion begins to turn translucent.
- Then add dried herbs, lentils, tomatoes, zucchini, water and chickpeas and stir well.
- Then bring the stew to a boil and then reduce the heat.
- Next, let everything simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
- Then take the pot off the heat.
- Start by removing the lid and stirring in the fresh sage and chopped kale.
- Place the lid back on the pot and let the kale wilt in the stew for 5-10 minutes.
- Finally, season the dish with sea salt and black pepper.
Stew with fresh shrimp and black-eyed peas
If you like seafood as wellMediterranean dishesthen this kale stew with shrimp is just right for you. Add garlic, red pepper and black-eyed peas to complete this healthy and filling dish.
Ingredients:
- 4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
- 450g uncooked prawns, peeled and deveined
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 bunch kale, trimmed and coarsely chopped
- 1 medium sweet red bell pepper, cut into larger pieces
- 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 1 can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- fresh chives, optional
Preparation:
- You can use Thermomix or a large stock pot (approx. 6 liters) for this kale stew. The preparation method described here uses the pot.
- First, heat the first 2 teaspoons of oil in the pot over medium heat and add the shrimp.
- Steam the seafood for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, and add garlic.
- Allow the shrimp to turn pink by frying for another 1-2 minutes and remove from the pot.
- Then, in the same pot, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high heat.
- First, introduce kale and peppers.
- Cook, covered, until the kale is tender, again stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes.
- Then add the broth and bring everything to a boil.
- Now stir in black-eyed peas, salt, pepper and shrimp.
- Finally, sprinkle the portions with chives if you like.
