Best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as stir-frying, blanching, sautéing, braising, and steaming. Kale raab can be used similarly to kale leaves when raw and can be chopped into salads. When cooked, kale raab can be paired with other cooked vegetables, pasta, meats, and seafood. Can also be pureed into sauces and spreads to be put on tortillas and toasted bread.
How to wash:
Rinse well in cold water to make sure it is very clean (water comes out clear).
Spin it dry in a salad spinner, leaving just a little water clinging to the leaves. If you do not own a salad spinner, lay the kale raab out in a single layer on a towel and pat to dry with a paper towel leaving just a little water.
How to store:
Once harvested, kale raab should be consumed with 1-3 days for optimal flavor and stored in the refrigerator.
How to pick some out/know it is fresh:
Use clean scissors to pick your kale buds before the yellow flowers have opened, and include a good portion of the tender stem and attached leaves.
Kale raab is most fresh when it has a bright green color.
How to know if going bad:
The best way to tell is look at the leaves of the kale raab. When kale raab ages, it will lose its bright green color and start to turn a yellowish color.
Basic cooking strategies/techniques:
Popularly sautéed and flavored with garlic, light oils, red pepper, white wine, and lemon juice.
Kale raab pairs well with parmesan cheese, asparagus, red cabbage, purple carrots, onions, garlic, polenta, and pinto beans.
Check out:
Pasta with Sausage and Kale (sub the kale for kale raab):
Optional: add additional veggies like cucumber, tomatoes, olives, etc. and/or canned chicken or tuna
Instructions:
Remove the stems from the kale leaves by running a sharp knife along each side of the stem from top to bottom. Stack the de-stemmed leaves, then cut crosswise into thin strips. Place the chopped kale into a colander and rinse well with cool water. Let as much water drain away as possible. Use a salad spinner of blot with a clean, lint-free towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Place the cleaned and dried kale into a large bowl.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
Peel the carrots, then shred them using a large holed cheese grater. Add the chickpeas and carrots to the bowl with the kale. If you don’t have a cheese grater for the carrots do not worry you could also use a potato or vegetable peeler and peel the carrots into strips instead. No peeler? You could also finely dice the carrots as well.
Add ½ cup Greek dressing to the bowl, then stir until everything is evenly coated. Spread 1/8th of the goat cheese to the center of a large tortilla. Add one heaping cup of the salad mix on top of the goat cheese. Add some freshly cracked pepper, if desired. Fold in the sides of the tortilla, then roll it up like a burrito. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to a day.
Fresh local greens return for spring in Healthy Beaver Bags
See basic technique for assembling a lettuce salad.
Ingredients:
Butter Lettuce – a mild sweet and smooth textured leafy green with rounder petal like leaves, Mustard Greens – a spicy leafy green, Cucumber, Red Onion, Carrot, Ranch dressing (or another dressing), Bread Croutons
Optional: Add a food with extra protein: Sliced hardboiled egg, black beans, seeds or nuts, cooked chicken
Instructions:
Quick version: Wash and chop the veggies into bite sized pieces. The largest volume, about 2/3 should be lettuce and smaller amounts of the other vegetables. Toss together and put in a bowl topping with a sliced hardboiled egg, croutons, and dressing.
Detailed version:
Wash and prep vegetables:
Butter Lettuce: Pull leaves of the butter lettuce from the bunch breaking off just above the root end. In a bowl or pan submerge in cold water to clean moving around the lettuce to let dirt or debris fall off to the bottom. Replace the water a couple of times to have a triple wash of your leaves. Shake or place on a clean towel or paper towel to dry a bit before use.
Storage tip: Use just how much you’d like to eat right away. Lettuce keeps better if it isn’t washed and if its root end is still attached, in the fridge in a bag. Washed lettuce can be stored in a bag or container with a damp clean paper towel in the fridge.
Mustard Greens: Wash by plunging in cold water to remove dirt. Let water drip away before using.
Cucumber: wash with water to remove dirt. Cut off ends. Cucumber can be sliced into rounds or any bite sized shape. It can be eaten with the peel or without.
Storage tip: Store cut end wrapped in the refrigerator. Slices or chopped cucumber can be stored sealed in the fridge. They will break down in a few days and should be used before then.
Red Onion: Brush off any dirt from the outside. Trim off the ends. Pull off the outer papery layer of onion. Slice from poles one end to the other to make very thin slices that can be separated and sprinkled over the salad.
Storage: An onion can be stored partially cut and tightly wrapped in the fridge. I would plan to use the rest in the next day or soon, the quality will decrease.
Carrot: Wash the exterior of the carrot scrubbing out any dirt. Cut off ends. Carrots can be peeled with a knife or veggie peeler, but it is not necessary. Chop into bite sized pieces, shred or slice.
Storage: carrot can be stored in a container refrigerated.
Assemble salad
Think about the flavors and textures of the different vegetables and your taste for them. If an ingredient is unfamiliar taste it first.
[Storage tip: A salad that is all combined will not store well. If you washed and prepped more than you want to eat right now. Store the components separately in the fridge and combine just before use]
In a bowl place mostly lettuce, top with mustard greens, sliced cucumber, finely sliced onion, and carrot.
Add on top dressing and toss to mix.
Add croutons to the top.
If you are adding a hardboiled egg, seeds, nuts, meat or chicken, add at the end.
Check out:
Minced Chicken Lettuce Wraps – another fun way to use butter lettuce! Recipe from SeriousEats
Lightly spray a cookie sheet with sides or two 9×13 inch pans with cooking spray.
Lay the slices of bread flat on the pan with the sides touching.
Beat egg, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla until very well blended.
Pour mixture over bread. Turn each slice over to ensure both sides are wet.
Cover and refrigerate overnight or bake immediately for 30 minutes.
Serve hot. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar (optional). Top with applesauce, fresh fruit or yogurt.
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.
Simple Berry Compote
Ingredients:
16 oz frozen berries
¼ cup juice
2 tsp sugar
Optional: vanilla and/or cinnamon to taste
Instructions:
Add berries, juice and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to medium heat.
Once bubbling, reduce heat slightly and use a spoon to mash the berries.
Continue cooking over medium-low heat for 10-12 minutes, occasionally stirring and mashing fruit to combine. Turn off heat and add optional add-ins at this point (cinnamon, vanilla, or other flavoring of your choice)
Join a live cook-along to use ingredients from the Healthy Beaver Bag the first Friday afternoon of each month of Spring term 2021.
Julie Jacobs, Moore Family Center nutrition educator, is your host from 4-5pm following Beaver Bag pick up. You have dinner ready to go when you’re done!
Recipe for the cook-along is announced on Instagram @HSRCOSU Friday mornings. (Or see a sneak peak in the Beaver Bag the week before.)
For accommodations for a disability please contact Nicole Hindes, HSRC director by the Tuesday before the class, Nicole.Hindes@oregonstate.edu or 541-737-9127.
Adding sweet or savory toppings toast, or making combos that are a little bit of both can make delicious nourishing meals fast.
Start with 100% Whole Wheat Bread. Bread made with whole grains has all of the parts of the wheat germ still included in the flour. Refined grains are milled to take away the bran and germ to have a smooth texture – all purpose flour is an example. (Shopping tip: Choose breads that say “100% whole grain” or “100% whole wheat”.)
