More and more dark cruciferous greens have been showing up lately at my farmers’ market. It’s harvest time for kale, cabbages and the like and these large leafy bunches are finding their way into my canvas bag. I love green leafy vegetables so in terms of eating seasonally, this is my favourite season! Here are a couple of very simple recipes that I’ve been using to add their goodness to our weekday dinners.

Sesame and Soy Kale

Kale with Sesame and Soy

1 large bunch kale
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsps light soy sauce
sunflower oil (or another vegetable oil but not olive oil)

Boil your trimmed kale until as tender as you wish. Drain well (squeeze out all that water). Heat the oil over a low heat and gently fry the sliced garlic. Add the sesame oil and soy sauce and then mix in the kale. Toss well and serve. Toasted sesame seeds would make a terrific addition but I was too late to toast some – they would have improved its looks! And I honestly cannot remember what I served with this!

Garlicky Cavolo Nero

Garlicky Cavolo Nero

1 large bunch cavolo nero
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
a good pinch dried chili flakes
olive oil
extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste

Boil the trimmed cavolo nero until it’s tender and once again, drain well. Saute the garlic and chili flakes in olive oil slowly until the garlic is golden and then toss in the cavolo nero and add salt to taste. Give it a final good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil at the end. We piled this onto little toasts cut from a baguette and when those ran out, we shovelled it directly into our mouths.