PARMESAN-ROASTED KALE // anna

Well, there are officially two days until Christmas.  TWO DAYS!  If you're like me, you're probably finishing up the last of your Christmas baking and doing some meal planning for the upcoming festivities (maybe, hopefully, sipping some eggnog too!).  Even though the holiday season is filled with cakes, cookies, pies, and candies, we all gotta get our veggies somewhere in there, right?  This kale makes a quick and easy side dish if you are looking to get some greens on your Christmas table.

I've never roasted kale before.  I do, however, have a documented obsession with this crispy kale and coconut bowl which I used as a jumping-off point.  Tossed in a little olive oil and grated parmesan or pecorino the kale becomes perfectly wilted with a few crispy pieces around the edges of the baking sheet.  Like other greens, it's best to use much more kale than you think you need because the leaves will shrink down as they roast.  

Merry Christmas! 

PARMESAN-ROASTED KALE

Any hard cheese like parmesan, romano or pecorino will work for this recipe.  If you are using a less salty cheese, feel free to add a sprinkle of sea salt.  I found that I did not need to add any salt when I used pecorino.

1 big bunch kale (I used curly, but lacinato would work just as well)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup grated hard cheese

Sprinkle salt and pepper as needed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Separate the kale leaves from the stalks and tear into medium-sized pieces, roughly 3 inches long.  Place in a large bowl.  Add olive oil and mix well, until all leaves are coated.  Add parmesan and salt and pepper as needed and mix well again.  Spread kale evenly over a large baking sheet - you may need to use two baking sheets depending on how much kale you use.

Bake for 10 minutes, until kale is wilted but not crispy.