Cavolo nero, with its striking dark leaves and slightly sweet flavor, is becoming a culinary favorite. Also known as Tuscan kale or lacinato kale, this versatile green is packed with nutrients and can be used in a variety of dishes. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or new to this leafy green, this guide will provide you with everything you need to know about you new favorite vegetable.
What is cavolo nero?
Cavolo nero is known by many names: Tuscan kale, dinosaur kale, black kale, black cabbage, lacinato kale. And unlike the hardier curly kale, cavolo nero is tender with a slightly sweet flavor, which makes it great for cooked dishes and raw in kale salad alike. (We especially love it in salads since the textured leaves are the perfect vessel for sauces and dressings.) Cavolo nero is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, and provides essential minerals like calcium and iron, making it a nutritious addition to any meal.
How to cook cavolo nero?
While cooking cavolo nero brings out even more of its sweetness, if you’re hoping to add it raw in a recipe and find it a tad bitter, try blanching it first. Or, if the slightly tough leaves are a little, well, tough, cover the leaves with olive oil and massage them for a few minutes to make the leaves even easier to eat.
Still not sure how to prep kale? Watch our helpful video to learn how to prep and store Tuscan kale:
When is the best time to buy cavolo nero (and other types of kale)?
Kale varieties like cavolo nero, along with its broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts siblings, is a member of the brassica family. These cool-weather crops truly thrive when the days are sunny and the evening temps are chilly, so look for them in early spring.
Where to buy cavolo nero?
With Misfits Market, you can get organic cavolo nero/tuscan kale delivered right to your door. When you shop Misfits Market you support a better food system and reduce food waste, while shopping for organic groceries and discovering new favorites. Sign up to get your organic produce delivered with Misfits Market today.
Cavolo nero recipes
We have you covered with cooking inspiration and delicious cavolo nero recipes.
Tuscan Kale and Sausage Stew with Cannellini Beans
A bowl of this Tuscan Kale and Sausage Stew with Cannellini Beans is like a soothing dinnertime lullaby. We used kale for this, you can use collard greens. We used pork sausage for this, you can use chicken sausage. You see where we’re going with this: Use what you have. The no-stress is the most important part.
Tuscan Kale Chips
These kale chips are crunchy, salty, and nutty. So flavorful that you won’t even care that you’re eating kale instead of classic potato chips. Plus, since you’re in charge of the baking, you can add whatever you want. Maybe a bit of nutty Parmesan or nutritional yeast.
Tuscan Kale Pesto
The best part about homemade pesto is you can use whatever you have hanging out in your fridge. Spinach, carrot tops, and of course, Tuscan kale. Pine nuts, pistachios, almonds. Parmesan or Romano cheese. A bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon, and there you go. An easy weeknight meal is only a few blitzes in the food processor away.
Red Quinoa and Tuscan Kale
Have a box of quinoa hanging in the back of your pantry? Then you’re only a few steps away from a filling, warming salad chock-full of nutty cheese, hardy kale, and sweet red bell peppers.
Caesar Salad with Tuscan Kale
The standard Caesar we know and love includes romaine lettuce, croutons, and Parmesan cheese. But if you’re looking to shake things up, this recipe introduces earthy Tuscan kale and jumbo ciabatta croutons. Time to take this classic salad to the next level.
Tuscan Kale Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
You know what they say: you eat with your eyes first. No problem here. This salad is beautiful, with vibrant slices of watermelon radish that pop against the deep green of Tuscan kale. Top it off with a homemade creamy avocado dressing to marry all of the nutty and peppery flavors together.
Kale, Mushroom, and Cheddar Bake
When all else fails, throw everything together with some eggs and bake it. But this isn’t your average baked egg frittata. Ciabatta bread acts as a de facto crust that covers eggs, mushrooms, cheese, and lots of Tuscan kale. It’s hearty, filling, and a new way to use up that kale.
Tuscan Kale Salad with Grapes, Toasted Walnuts, and Honey Garlic Vinaigrette
In order to make Tuscan kale a bit more tender, it often requires a light massage in olive oil. Here, kale is soaked in a delicious marinade to make it even softer and tastier. Then, it’s added with toasted walnuts and fruity grapes for a surprisingly flavorful and filling salad.
Tuscan Kale and Potato Soup
This soup stars Tuscan kale, sweet Italian sausage, and potatoes. It’s also easy to convert into a tasty vegetarian-friendly dinner, which gives this recipe bonus points in our book!
Tuscan Kale Pasta
If you have some extra Tuscan kale lingering in the fridge and are craving an Italian supper, this recipe is sure to satisfy. Kale is sautéed with garlic, red lentils, and then tossed with bowtie pasta. It’s deliciously simple and pairs beautifully with an Italian white wine.
Bobby Flay’s Kale Stem Pesto
we challenged our chef-in-residence, Bobby Flay to help us fight food waste and make something delicious from those random bits and pieces of produce you might have lingering in the fridge. He came up with a genius use for kale’s hardy stem, which tends to go straight into the compost bin or trash in most households. Not anymore!
Quick-Pickled Kale Stems
Extend the life of any veggie with this easy-to-follow pickling recipe. We used Rainbow Swiss chard here, but this recipe works for any hardy stem. Kale stems, collard green stems. And any veggie, like blanched green beans, jalapeños, and of course, onions.
Kale and Corn Pakoras
Fried always mean something good. Crispy, satisfying, delicious, usually. But these pakoras, Indian-style fritters, offer so much more. Filled with fresh veggies including corn and kale; delicately spiced with cumin, turmeric, and ginger; and extra light and crispy thanks to a combo of rice and chickpea flour. We like to serve these as an appetizer with lots of condiment options: a cucumber yogurt dip, a sweet mango chutney, and something spicy, like harissa, or even just sriracha.
Garlicky Warm Kale Salad
Because it can be bitter and a little tough, kale needs a simple sauté in garlic and oil to help to cut some the sharp taste and soften the leaves. You’ll be left with garlic-infused kale, the perfect flavorful base for any autumn salad. We like this one with thinly-sliced beets and onions.
Maple Dijon Acorn Squash and Kale Salad
Is there anything better than a hearty winter salad? Use cavolo nero and kabocha squash (or your favorite winter squash) to make this fragrant and filling meal. It’s great as a vegetarian-friendly main dish (boost the protein with a hard-boiled egg or extra nuts) or as a colorful side salad with roasted chicken.
Comments (2)
What are some recipes for fennel
We’re happy to help, Dodie! We have an article that can help: https://blog.misfitsmarket.com/2020/11/20/how-to-cut-store-prep-fennel/. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out!