Veggie of the Week - Cavolo Nero
sponsored by Coleman Farms

This week the Kale continues with Cavolo Nero ("Black Cabbage"), aka Dino(saur) Kale, Lacinato, etc.. Kale can be decorative, as you'll know if you've seen a good bunch of Red Scots or either of the Peacock Kales. But while these are pretty or glamorous, Cavolo Nero is quietly, solidly attractive, a sort of Romanesque to the others' Gothic or Baroque, foregoing their ruffles and fringes and bright colors for a simple lanceate shape with a dimpled surface in dark grey blue green.

Cavolo Nero is probably the tenderest Kale, having a thin leaf without any of the almost silicate resistance of Scots Kale or the veination of Russian. It's nearly as tender as cabbage, but without the crunchiness when raw or the wateriness when cooked; more like broccoli leaves, in both cases.

The flavor is special, too. Raw, it has some of the citrus-turpentine of pine needles (particularly the light colored part at the base, where they attach to the stem). This gives way, when cooked, to a rounded almost nutty flavor which is an enhancement of the flavor of broccoli leaves, without the sulpherous smell and tang of some broccoli.

Cavolo Nero, like the other Kales, is handy in soups, because it will hold up under prolonged cooking, though it will flavor the broth less than Russian or Scots kale. A classic (in a sense - the concept is classic, it's instantiation varies from kitchen to kitchen and day to day) soup to use Cavolo Nero is Ribollito, or 'reboiled', which in Tuscan cuisine is, or can be, a soup made of leftovers (what else?) thickened with potatoes or stale bread, and usually incorporating some greens and beans. Cavolo Nero, because of its color, flavor dimension and cooking properties, is perfectly suited to this kind of soup.

Like the other Kales, it goes well with beans, like Borlotti or Pinto, and as suggested last week, this can make the basis of a meal, as a 'sauce' for pasta, for example. There are other possiblities. Take some Cavolo Nero, chiffonade it and steam it together with some chopped onion or garlic until it's about half cooked ('cooked' is very tender). Add a tomato or some tomatillos if handy, some green pepper or chile if desired, and some cubed Butternut Squash, and finish cooking. Season to taste with cracked black pepper or cumin and chopped Cilantro. Serve as a vegetable dish or use it, with or without beans (which can be added along with the squash etc. to heat) over pasta or cooked grain, or beside fresh bread or toasted bread with cheese.

There's nothing magic about steaming, by the way. If you prefer, you can pepare this by braising/stirr frying, making suitable adjustments in the preparation of the vegetables.

Cavolo Nero is available from Coleman Farms and from Earth Tryne Farms ('BD')