raw kale
fresh coriander/cilantro
fresh parsley
really nice olive oil
greek yogurt
umami salt
freshly ground peppercorns
homemade plum jam
It’s the usual formula for an innovative meal: snarling stomach, very little in the fridge. But I did have all of the above, and felt like pasta, so into the blender it all went.
My friend Charles Holmes, who undoubtedly makes the world’s tastiest, funnest, healthiest, and all-around great breakfasts at the Gaige House Inn in Glen Ellen, showed me how good raw kale can be. It exudes a real grassiness, as if the essence of a winter garden were somehow bottled and concentrated. It’s also slightly bitter (a feature, not a bug, in my book), so I decided to offset the bitterness with a little sweetness. I could have reached for honey or maple syrup, but we still have a jar of Delia’s lovely plum jam, so a tablespoon went in. The yogurt gave it a nice creaminess.
Total prep dinner time: about five minutes, made while the pasta water heated up.
Would love to hear about other favorite “last minute, lazy-but-hungry” meals from you, so please post them here!
My favorite “last minute but lazy” meal since childhood is a bowl of rice topped with a 1-minute poached egg, chopped green onions, and a few drops of soy sauce. I tried this a few months ago with maccha salt and it was terrific.
I like that one too. When in doubt, reach for eggs and rice!
Raw Kale salad, made with lacinto or dino kale. Hold the kale by the stem end and pull along the thick rib to seperate it from the leaf. Stack the de-ribbed leaves on cutting board and thinly slice. Toss with a strong-flavored vinaigrette (that includes some garlic) and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Serve with bread crumbs/croutons and parmesan cheese for garnish. Melissa Clark wrote about this for the NY Times in December and I’ve been making it ever since. And while we’re on the subject, her raw broccoli salad in yesterdays NYT is just to die for…
That sounds amazing, thanks Bruce! That’s pretty much how Charles makes his. I saw the broccoli recipe yesterday and thought it sounded a little too intense on the garlic, but I should just make it see for myself . . . .
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