Collards and Kales
Collards and Kales are the hearty greens of the Brassica family, strong leaves with rich histories that can withstand Siberian winters and come out sweeter on the other side. Although there are many ways to enjoy these greens, they can be enjoyed very simply by roughly chopping them and cooking them in a frying pan with a little oil or butter, salt, garlic, and any other seasoning you like. They are also delicious in quiches, omelets, or served on the side of meats and a starch. They cook down to be tender with a rich savory flavor, can be made into crispy kale chips, or added to your fruit smoothies for a little extra green in your day.
Collard Greens
Collard Greens growing at Eloisa Organic Farm in Albany, Oregon
Collard greens are like the spinach of the Brassica family. Hearty yet tender leaves cook down to be melt-in-your-mouth delicious, can be used in any recipe that calls for kale, and have a deeply rich history that farmers are working to keep alive.
In 2016, a handful of seed-saving organizations came together to found The Heirloom Collard Project, including the Seed Savers Exchange, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, and the Culinary Breeding Network, just to name a few. The goal was simple. Keep alive the thriving diversity of collard green varieties as well as the food traditions and connections they fuel, all while increasing visibility in seed catalogues and educating about all that collard greens have to offer. In 2020, Collard Week was created for “collard-focused education and celebration,” which can be found on YouTube here.
Pacific Northwest farmer and writer, Melony Edwards, wrote to the program’s success and the complex history of collard greens in this piece titled, The Heirloom Collard Project is a Surprisingly Northwest Success. She writes, “This hearty vegetable carries a lofty legacy in addition to its nutritional value (it’s high in vitamin A, C and calcium, among others), and grows almost effortlessly in the seemingly barren wintered grounds. Collards, aka the “headless cabbage,” is one of the oldest members of the Brassica family… Full of fiber and antioxidants with the choice to eat them raw or cooked, over 70 different varieties of collard greens exist ranging in deep shades of green, to light yellow-green, glossy and even purple!”
Collard-inspired artwork by Natalie Daise. Find her work on instagram @gullahmama and available for sale at nataliedaiseart.com.
21 Collard varieties (image from article above)
Kale
Kale display at the Portland State Farmers Market
Kales come in a wide variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and leaf textures. In this market display starting in the top left corner and moving clockwise, we’ve got Lacinato kale, red kale, white kale, peacock kale, and green kale. And that just names a few!
Lacinato kale, also known as black kale, dinosaur kale, or Tuscan kale, this is both my personal favorite kale as well as the top seller at farmers markets. The rumply leaves are savoyed like its savoy cabbage cousin and are perfect for holding cooking juices or salad dressings. Plus the narrower rounded leaves are very easy to chop straight down the bunch.
Should I cut the stem off when cooking with kale?
I personally leave the midrib in whenever I’m cooking with kale, but really it comes down to your preference and goals with the dish that you’re making. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll go ahead and remove the stems for a smoother, creamier dish, but that’s pretty rare. The stems are sweet like broccoli stems, it’s super quick to just forget about it and chop them in, and you’re getting more for your money’s worth. As always, there are no rules, just do what feels right to you—chopper’s choice!
Peacock kale is almost just an ornamental kale, those round little kales you see in planters outside department stores, and has very stiff leaves that are better used like you would a cabbage. Chop it up nice and thin in a slaw or cook it down until soft. The plant itself does not grow both pink and white and green leaves, but is actually three separate varieties that must be bunched together to make a multi-colored bunch (see photos below). Regardless of which kale you chose, all can be used in fairly similar ways and are interchangeable for one another.
Spigarello
Spigarello, known more accurately in Italy as “Spigariello” is closer to being a leafy broccoli than it is a kale, but being that it’s primarily a green, we have it in the Collards & Kales section. This twisty thin leaves are sweet and mild and can be harvested again and again throughout the fall and winter, no chopping needed. The added broccoli florets are a bonus! Read more about Spigarello from Siskiyou Seeds. Image from @yoshinoherbfarm in Japan.
Collard & Kale Recipes
Recipe by Brita from Food with Feeling