Stuffed Kale Leaves

Stuffed Kale Leaves

When Beadie announced kale as the BSI, I immediately started thinking about foods I love that involve giant leaves … and Greek dolmades were the first thing that came to mind. You can really stuff these leaves with any filling mixture you want, sweet or savory. As with everything I cook, I chose my filling ingredients based on what I could find in my apartment!

Ingredents

– about 20 large kale leaves, stems removed

– filling mixture of your choice. I used:

• 1 cup blend of cooked barley, kamut, and rye berries
• 1/3 cup cooked chicken pieces
• 1/2 sauteed onion
• 3 tbsp sesame seeds toasted in dry skillet
• 1 chopped tomato
• 8 chopped olives
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• dried oregano and basil
• coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Steam kale leaves. I did this in a covered pot with a steamer basket for about 20 minutes:

Work on leaves one at a time. Place one steamed kale leaf stem-side-up on a flat surface:

Drop about 1 tbsp filling onto center of leaf:

Fold long ends over filling. Fold sides of leaf to cover filling completely. If your leaf tears, it is perfectly acceptable to double-leaf your “packet.” Place stuffed leaf seam-side down in pan:

Repeat with remaining leaves and filling. I stuffed 13 leaves:

Put a thin layer of water in the pan, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Post-simmer:

Serve hot or cold. Check out the amazing textural variety on the inside:

Yummm, these are delicious!

P.S. If you have extra filling, it’s great for making stuffed tomatoes (or even stuffed peppers). Scoop out the inside of the tomato, mix tomato innards with your extra filling, and squeeze everything back into the tomato. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes: