Chopped fresh kale, lightly sautéed in olive oil with onions and red pepper flakes. Tossed with toasted cashews.
Anyone will tell you, “eat your greens”!
And they’re right. Bitter greens especially—kale, collard greens, mustard greens, etc. They’re good for you, packed with vitamins, and they help digestion.
That said, frankly I never knew what to do with them until I started learning how to cook from my parents. Now I can’t get enough of them!
Usually we offset the bitter with bacon. But you can also use nuts to provide balance. With this simple and easy side of sautéed kale I’ve added toasted cashews. Not much more is needed.
A little lemon juice, some onion, a dash of salt, and a sprinkling of chili pepper flakes for zing, and there you have it. The cashews pair beautifully with the kale. Now, go eat your greens!
Sautéed Kale with Toasted Cashews Recipe
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup unsalted, roasted cashews, roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 bunch kale, rinsed, tough midrib removed, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
- Salt
Method
1 Toast the cashews: In a large, shallow sauté pan, heat on medium high. Add the cashews and spread out in an even layer. Toast, stirring occasionally until lightly browned here and there, and you smell the aroma of the toasted cashews. Remove from the pan to a bowl.
2 Cook the onions: Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Heat on medium. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3 Add the kale and red pepper flakes: Increase the heat to high/medium high. Add a couple tablespoons more of olive oil to the pan. Add the red pepper flakes. Add the roughly chopped kale. Use tongs to turn the kale leaves over so that they are all coated with olive oil.
Cook just a couple minutes, turning the leaves over often, until they are just beginning to wilt.
4 Sprinkle on lemon juice and salt. Remove from heat. Stir in the cashews.
Taste and add more salt and lemon juice to taste.
