KALE, BREADCRUMBS, NUTS & BEANS

This is a take on a Portuguese dish known as migas. In Portugal they’d use cornbread, pine nuts and local seasonal greens. I’ve used local bread and kale with almonds instead. The bread and nuts are cooked in extra virgin olive oil until golden and crunchy. The bread will soften to a chewy, aldente texture when the kale and beans are added. The result is a very moreish plate of substantial goodness. For a meat option, add crumbled sausage meat to the mix. See instructions under the main recipe.

serves 4 as a main or 6 as a side

sea salt

1 bunch Tuscan kale (cavolo nero)

⅓ cup extra virgin olive, plus extra for drizzling

½ loaf of day old or stale ciabatta or sour dough, crust removed and finely chopped (or use food processor)

1 cup whole almonds, finely chopped (or use food processor)

1 onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

400g can butterbeans (or cannellini, or borlotti beans), drained reserving ¼ cup of liquid

ground black pepper

Remove the tough stems of kale. Stack the leaves lengthways then cut across into very thin shreds. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add a teaspoon of salt. Plunge the kale into boiling water and bring quickly back to the boil and cook for one minute. Drain well.

Meanwhile, heat ¼ cup of oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the bread and stir to coat in oil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the bread is golden brown and the nuts are toasted and crunchy. Transfer to a bowl and return the frying pan to a medium heat. Add the remaining oil, onion and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion is softened.. Return the bread and almonds and toss to combine with onion mixture. Increase the heat to medium-high Add the kale and beans then gently stir through to combine and heat through. Stir through the reserved bean liquid and 2 tablespoons of water and bring to a sizzle. Season generously with ground black pepper and sea salt. Drizzle with extra olive oil. Serve immediately.

Option: Kale, Breadcrumb, Nuts, Beans with Crumbed Sausage

Peel the casings from four Torello Farm beef sausages of your choice. Before starting the recipe above, heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the sausage meat, stirring and breaking the meat up to avoid forming clumps.  Cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Transfer meat to a bowl and drain off excess rendered fat, to discard. Then follow recipe as above and return the crumbed sausage to the frying pan along with kale and beans.

 Recipe by Fiona Hammond, August 2022