Easy Lightened Up Creamed Kale
I’ll never forget the first time I tasted kale. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t creamed kale. It was 25 years ago, my grandfather had recently moved to Palm Springs with his new love, Irène. Let’s just say she didn’t cook like my grandmother– who was one of the best French home cooks imaginable.
Irène cooked everything (I mean everything) in the pressure cooker until it was dead six times over. So, needless to say, I was skeptical when I saw her bright green mashed potatoes. I politely asked why they were green, and she told me that they were spiked with kale. Again, politely, I tasted the mashed potatoes. To my surprise, they were delicious.
When I became a vegetarian, two years later, I occasionally bought some kale and made those mashed potatoes. But it wasn’t until about ten years ago, when we joined our first CSA that I really got to know all about kale. It’s no secret that I love greens and I love cauliflower and brussels sprouts. To me, kale tastes like a combination of all three.
Kale is the perfect vegetable- unless you ask my husband. Joshua HATES kale. This is a guy who eats pretty much everything, but to him, kale tastes a little like battery acid.
Since I love kale, I’m always trying to find ways he might like it. There are a few preparations that he doesn’t hate. But this… this creamed kale, he asks for seconds. He asked me to make it for Thanksgiving. This is a kale home run!
My creamed kale has only a few ingredients and it’s super easy to prepare, because instead of making a roux and a white sauce like traditional creamed spinach, you whip up some Green Valley Organics Sour Cream and add it to the sautéed kale at the end of the cooking process. No roux, no flour, one tablespoon of butter instead of one stick.
Green Valley Organics sour cream is more like crème fraiche which means it won’t break when heated on the stovetop it also means it tastes amazing. We always have it our house. I often add it to scrambled eggs instead of milk, we eat it with our mashed sweet potatoes, and it’s luscious when I whip in a vanilla bean add a dollop to a piece of fruit for dessert.
Green Valley Organics Lactose Free Sour Cream fits our unprocessed diet with its three ingredients: cream, lactase enzyme, and cultures. It also fits our ethics since the milk comes from a certified humane dairy and all of the milk comes from one ranch so there’s no question of the supply chain.
It’s hard to mention their products without mentioning the kindness and dedication of the Bice family- who have been in the dairy business in Sonoma County since 1968. I am pleased to work with this ethical and super tasty product. While I was compensated for this post, my views are 100% my own. I’ve been writing about Green Valley Organics and their sister company Redwood Hill Farm and Creamery for years- long before we had a working relationship.
I hope you enjoy this creamed kale. I have pledged to post every day in November as part of National Blog Posting Month aka #NaBloPoMo. I’ve also committed to sharing a gratitude list each day in November; I’d love to hear what you’re grateful for, too.
Daily Gratitude Nov 7, 2013
Warm Socks
Yoga Pants
Olive and Benny
Joshua
Coffee
Persimmons
Redwoods
This recipe for creamed kale is simple simple simple. I used a combination of red Russian kale and purple curly kale this time, but I have made it with all types of kale. The key is to remove all of the thick stems and then chop the leaves into little pieces. The other key is to use a crème fraiche style sour cream like Green Valley Organics, as regular sour cream may break when you add it to a hot pan.
Ingredients Creamed Kale
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup onion, cut into ¼ inch dice
- ¾ cups of water
- 2 bunches of kale, stems removed and leaves finely chopped (about 8 cups of uncooked chopped kale)
- 1/3 cup Green Valley Organics Sour Cream at room temperature
- 1/8 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- a heavy pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Instructions Creamed Kale
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent- about 5 minutes.
- Remove onions from skillet and place aside. In the same skillet, add kale, water, salt and pepper and raise heat to medium-high. Cook until water has dissipated and kale is tender- about 7-10 minutes depending on the type of kale.
- Drain kale in a strainer- making sure there is no water left in the skillet.
- Whip crème fraiche until it is smooth slightly thinned out.
- Add kale, onions, and crème fraiche to the skillet stirring crème fraiche into the kale. Once mixed and warmed through, add nutmeg and adjust seasoning to taste.
That looks divine! I didn't know they had lactose free sour cream.
I am grateful for Persimmons too as I have 2 trees full 🙂
Sarah, I love Green Valley Organics. Their entire line is lactose free and it is the most spectacular sour cream ever made. I also love their kefir and yogurt. Just so so so good! And lucky you with a persimmon tree!
I love kale but have never tried it creamed! I just checked and it looks like our local Whole Foods might carry that sour cream so I'm definitely going to try it! For a while we were culturing our own creme fraiche using local raw cream from Organic Pastures and that's when we discovered how good it is in scrambled eggs! We haven't been eating much dairy at all lately but I'm slowly adding the good quality stuff back in and can't wait to try the Green Valley Organics sour cream. Phil is also on the fence about kale but I know he'll love this version. I have three bunches of it in the fridge right now, so maybe it will show up on the dinner plate tonight!
Nicole, I had never had creamed kale before either. It all came about when I was trying to find a way for my husband to enjoy kale. I usually can do it with apples, cranberry, and a splash of bourbon and he\’ll eat it. Or sometimes, if I make a really tart kale salad he\’ll do that too. I\’ve been working with Redwood HilL Farm and Creamery and Green Valley Organics this year and I absolutely love their products. Since you\’re in California you may be able to get the Redwood Hill chevre too. I so highly recommend it- especially the green chile one. OMG I can literally eat it with a spoon. Mmm, now I want some.
Hi,
I love kale so much. But i had never tasted with Cream and that too lactose free. In fact i have never heard about this kind of cream. But i am going to try this version of kale. Is this lactose free sour cream easily available??
Hello,
If you are in the US, the sour cream should be easily available. Here\’s a link to their store finder http://greenvalleylactosefree.com/stores/
I hope you love the kale as much as we do. Please let me know what you think.
Hello,
If you are in the US, the sour cream should be easily available. Here’s a link to their store finder http://greenvalleylactosefree.com/stores/
I hope you love the kale as much as we do. Please let me know what you think.
It looks very nice, what would you recommend serving it with?
Thanks Jessica,
I would serve it with any savory meal. It would be great alongside a frittata or my grain free pumpkin quiche! Please do let me know if you make it and what you serve it with.
Sabrina