Balsamic Kale & Shredded Carrot

Here’s a simple recipe for kale. It comes from my brother Matt, who will be submitting more recipes soon. Try this one!
-John

Ingredients

1 lb Kale (pictured Red Russian)
3 Carrots
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
Black Pepper

Preparation

1. Wash and shred enough Kale to fill a large pot (mixed varieties work best)

Red Russian Kale

2. Place steamer basket in the bottom of the pot and add a half-inch of water
3. Place Kale in steamer basket and cover with a lid; place pot on stove
4. Turn on the burner (high) and get a good steam going; steam for about 5 minutes or until the Kale is wilted but hasn’t lost color
5. While steaming, peel and shred (using a cheese grater) 3 large Carrots

Carrots

Shredded Carrot

6. Add the the shredded carrots to the top of the steamed (cooked down) Kale and steam for about a minute more (you don’t want mushy carrots, just a little less than raw)
7. (Be Careful): Turn off the burner; extract the water by holding the lid mostly on with oven mitts and tipping the pot over the sink; remove the steamer basket too
8. Return pot to stove (but place off the recently used burner); grind a hefty amount of black pepper over the pot, and douse with 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar; with a wooden spoon
9. Stir the pot with a wooden spoon so all the ingredients are well mixed
10. Cover for at least 2 more minutes to let the vinegar absorb

Serve hot or cold (chilled in fridge a few hours) next to just about anything, but goes best with: grilled whole-fish (branzino); spicy pork tenderloin, or black bean & quinoa salad. I have a few variations on this I make, one with dried cranberries thrown in with, or instead of, the carrots. Feel free to add/remove vegetable ingredients but stick with the Balsamic. Importantly, however, is that there is not olive oil or added salt in the recipe. The sweetness of the carrots, the bitterness of the kale, and the presence of both sweet/bitter vinegar are all you need. Plus leftovers end up tasting better; they aren’t slimy.

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