We’ve had a good summer for kale, relatively cool (up until this last two weeks). I am trying out a few new varieties this year and am especially pleased with Madeley. I got this variety from my favorite seed company because they raved about it’s summer productivity. I’ll say! It just keeps pumping out these monsterously huge leaves. But it’s not just the size that matters, the leaves are super tender, way more tender than any kale I’ve grown before. The flavor does not quite hold up to the nutty goodness of a Tuscan variety, but it’s still totally delicious.
If you also have a bumper crop of greens, you might want to try freezing the extra. Greens freeze very well, here’s my method:
Trim and chop however you like. I do find that the stems become more noticable after freezing, so even if you normally leave the stems in when you cook greens, consider removing them for freezing.
Blanche by submerging in boiling, salted water for 1-2 minutes, possibly more if the greens are older and tougher. Drain and rinse with cold water until greens stop steaming.
Pack into wide-mouthed canning jars, leaving about an inch of space at the top (any jar with straight sides will work, jars with “shoulders” may break in the freezer). Press down on the top of the greens to bring up any air bubbles, greens should be surrounded by their own “juice.”
Carefully pour olive oil over greens to cover, this helps protect the top layer from freezer burn.
Of course, you can freeze greens in zip locks too, it works fine and thaws much faster. But I think the quality lasts much better in jars.
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