First night
frosts are expected soon, and according to all the experts, that means our
chards, kales, cabbages and sprouts will be in optima forma any time now. Bring
it on, Abel & Cole. I look forward to the first Dutch
curly-kale-flecked-potato-mash-with-smoked-sausage meal of the season already.
The leafy green winter veg debut of 2011, however, was for cavolo nero. Which,
in fact, was a cavolo nero debut for me.
Cavolo nero is the super gorgeous veg you know from the cover of volume 1
of Nigel Slater’s Tender (what!? you
don’t own, indeed you have never seen a copy of Tender? for shame!). Or as the mystery ingredient listed in
the indexes of the River Café books. It comes in bundles of matte dark green
leaves with a bubble-wrap surface. The flavour is a bit like curly
kale, but stronger and quite sweet (apparently sweeter after the first frost). I
liked it a lot. I cooked up the sauce below, took a bite to taste, and could
have kept eating it straight from the kitchen processor (which would have been sad... but delicious). If you come across
this black kale, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try, and this sauce is perfect for
showing off the flavour.
PS. Be warned. When executed, this recipe will leave a trail of Very Green utensils.
Fusilli with cavolo nero and parmesan
From the River Café
Cook Book.
a good bunch of
cavolo nero
a clove of
garlic, peeled, whole
fusilli /
farfalle / conchiglie
olive oil
parmesan
Cut out the tough core of the cavolo nero leaves, keeping them whole
otherwise. (Easy trick: fold the leaf in half and take out the stem in one
cut.) Boil, together with the garlic, in salted water for a few minutes. Take
out the leaves and garlic (keep the water for boiling the pasta), and pulse in
a kitchen processor to a rough paste. If you dislike a strong garlic flavour,
add only half the garlic at first, and more to taste. Add a good bit of olive
oil and pulse until the green mess comes together in a thick sauce (how much
depends on preference – more oil gives a smoother paste and, of course, a
richer dish). Serve as a pasta sauce, topped with grated parmesan.
- Naomi