Kale-Based Dishes are More Versatile Than Ever... We Grow This Hardy Vegetable

Kale. A healthy, hardy, inviting salad base loaded with antioxidants. It can help you fight free radicals, pampering and improving the texture of your skin in some cases. It can help your body fight disease along with its other vitamin-heavy vegetable brethren, is great for your eyes, and can be pretty tasty too.

And yet, many of us have experiences with kale that can be chalked up to: “Ew, that smells weird.” (I’m not here to fight you… kale has a very specific scent.)

But for all of the kale naysayers out there, did you know that a single cup of raw kale includes more than the recommended daily dose of vitamins A, K, and C, with generous helpings of vitamin B6, manganese, calcium, copper, potassium, and magnesium. An immaculate source of carbohydrates, half of those are protein and another ⅔ are fiber. Is there any good nutrient our little organic friends have left out?

There’s no wonder, then, that kale comes at a premium in so many places. It requires very specific growing conditions. In fact, it can be almost impossible to grow in many different climates. So, when you have a patch of greenery that’s ripe for it, you take advantage of it. While kale is noted to grow best in cool weather, La Pitchoune does exist in a more temperate climate. And we certainly wouldn’t be found outside in the evenings (outside of July and August) without a light jacket. So, it seems, our land is a bit of an ideal location for kale.

In fact, at La Pitchoune, the team is fortunate enough to grow kale. Quite frankly, we planted it on a whim and it has thrived with little intervention from us. As we continue to experiment with gardening on the grounds, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well kale has thrived. Outside of July and August, it grows almost year-round on the property, making it especially easy to implement into new dishes. Soups, hot salads, cold salads, pasta bakes, smoothies, and more can accommodate this rich, dark green into your routine in fun and flavorful ways. (And, if you’re willing to torture your family a bit - homemade kale chips with a sprinkle of sea salt are some of the most satisfying snacks to pop on a sunny afternoon!)

Even if kale has prevailed in evading you over the years, the garden at La Pitchoune will serve to rectify your faith in this gorgeous, oft-overlooked green friend.