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Dear Eric: Could you offer some side dishes using kale?

Sarah

Dear Sarah: Nutritious kale has been a trendy food the past few years, so much so that even McDonald’s is now serving salads made with it.

That fact made me worried for local growers of kale, because a fast-food restaurant is often where a food trend goes to die. How can kale still be trendy and cool if the world’s biggest burger chain now offers it?

Also, according to 2015 food trend reports I read back in January, the kale trend was predicted to wane this year and give way to other vegetables, such as cauliflower.

However, people visiting Victoria’s Moss Street Market last weekend must not have heard that news. Kale sales were doing just fine and when I purchased a few pristine, just picked, beautiful bunches, I understood why.

Not only would that kale provide me with such things as vitamins A and C, calcium, fibre and iron, it would also offer me a great ingredient to use in a range of dishes.

They, of course, include side dishes, and today I offer Sarah three recipes for them, including kale-topped flatbread, kale-rich black-eyed peas and mashed potatoes strewn with kale.

Just before using kale, thoroughly wash the leaves in cold water, as dirt can get trapped in them. The leaves and stem of kale can be eaten, but the stem and sometimes parts of centre stalk, if overly tough, are often trimmed away before using kale in a recipe.

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Flatbread With Kale, Feta and Pesto

This kale-topped flatbread is made with the pocket-less, Greek-style pita sold in the deli section of most supermarkets. Serve wedges of it alongside such things as soup, such as tomato soup, stews and meats, such as roasted or butterflied and grilled lamb leg.

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Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: nine to 10 minutes

Makes: four to six (two to three wedges each) servings

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4 cups loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh kale leaves

2 Greek-style (also called souvlaki) pitas

1/2 to 2/3 cup homemade or store-bought pesto

100 grams feta cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Set a steamer over a pot of boiling water. Set the kale in the steamer, cover and cook until just tender, about three to four minutes. Transfer kale to a plate and cool to room temperature. Now squeeze out excess moisture from the kale.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set the pitas on the baking sheet and spread with pesto. Divide and arrange the kale, feta and bell pepper on top of the pesto. Sprinkle all with a little sea salt and black pepper.

Bake the pitas for nine to 10 minutes, or until the toppings are hot and the bottom of the pitas are crispy. Transfer pita to a cutting board, drizzle with a little oil, cut into wedges and serve.

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Kale and Black-eyed Peas With Parmesan Cheese

Serve this earthy and nutritious kale and legume dish alongside such things as pork ribs, ham, sausages, lamb shanks and barbecue chicken.

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Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: About 15 minutes

Makes: Four side-dish servings

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2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 large garlic clove, minced

• pinch crushed chili flakes

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 to 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

3 cups loosely-packed, coarsely chopped fresh kale leaves

1 (14 oz./398 mL) canned black-eyed peas, drained well, rinsed and drained well again

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

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Place the oil in a 25-centimetre-wide pot set over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until tender, about five minutes. Add the stock, chilies, oregano and cumin and bring to a simmer. Add the kale and black-eyed peas, cover and cook five to seven minutes, or until the kale is tender. Mix in the cheese, salt and pepper and serve.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes With Kale

I published this recipe in a past article I wrote on meatloaf, which these garlic-infused spuds flecked with nutritious kale go great with. You can, of course, serve them with any other dish mashed potatoes pair well with. Chicken stock is the liquid in these mashed potatoes, not milk.

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Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 21 to 24 minutes

Makes: Four servings

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6 small- to medium-sized fresh kale leaves, washed well, tough lower stems trimmed

3/4 cup chicken stock

1 1/2 lb yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and quartered

4 large garlic cloves, thickly sliced

2 Tbsp melted butter

• salt and white pepper to taste

Cut each kale leaf in half lengthwise. Now cut each half leaf, widthwise, into quarter-inch strips. Bring the stock to a simmer in a wide skillet. Add the kale and cook until just tender, three to four minutes. Remove the kale from the heat and set aside in its cooking liquid. Place the potatoes and garlic in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook until very tender, about 18 to 20 minutes.

Drain the potatoes well, ensuring the garlic stays in the pot. Thoroughly mash the potatoes and garlic as smooth as possible. Mix in the melted butter, reserved kale and its cooking liquid and salt and pepper, and then serve.

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Eric Akis is the author of The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.