Sausage Kale Recipe

From farm to plate

He Whippoorwill Farm stand overflows with the bounty of an early autumn harvest on a typical day in September. Bins of juicy, flavorful tomatoes and beautiful lettuce heads still appear alongside fall favorites such as Delicata squash and kale. The vegetables come from the field directly into the stand, and farm workers continue to pick and refill bins as the day progresses. Many Island residents are committed to the concept of community-supported agriculture (CSA). The abundance, flavor, and freshness of the food are the driving reasons more than four hundred families and individuals joined Whippoorwill’s CSA program this year. They pay in advance for a small or full-size share, and in return receive five, ten, or twenty weeks of produce from the farm on Stoney Hill Road, off Edgartown–Vineyard Haven Road in Oak Bluffs. With this commitment in hand, forty-nine-year-old owner and farmer Andrew Woodruff can generally predict how a season will progress. Andrew, who started farming on the Island in his teens, now manages twenty-five acres with a seasonal crew of six. Steady, hard-working, and generous, he has also encouraged and guided a number of young Island farmers over the years, many of whom got their start on his farm. For shareholders, picking up the vegetables each week is the easy and fun part – admiring the produce as you fill your bags, talking to strangers and friends alike as you pick peas or beans in the farm fields, imagining the meals you will make. The more challenging aspect comes once you’re back at home, confronted with the task of storing all the vegetables and figuring out how to use everything – especially veggies you’re not quite accustomed to. I decide to pick up a week’s full share and document what comes out of it. My goal is to use everything, and along the way share some tips, ideas, and recipes. In the past, despite my best intentions, the beets would often pile up.

Kale Fest Recipes! « New Pi Eats

This recipe is inspired by the desire to modify recipes that require imported ingredients to local food-based ingredients, or ones that ‘could’ be developed as a local niche. These rolls are a take-off of Nori rolls, substituting the imported Nori with a fermented kale leaf. The saltiness of seaweed is created by modeling the classic preservation of grape leaves. These ingredients also intend to meld with The Wahls’ Way nutritional approach.

Cut off major portion of stem of kale leaves. Sprinkle with salt and let stand about 30 minutes to soften. (Note: one can use ½ the salt by spiking the culture with an earlier ferment.) Layer 4 kale leaves together. Roll from leaf tip to stem, cigar-like. Repeat with remaining 8 leaves so that there are 3 bundles. Pack them into a 1 pint wide mouth jar. Fill with fresh water. (NOTE: do NOT use tap water; chlorination will retard microorganisms. Alternatively, boil the water to remove chlorine.) Let stand at room temp or cooler for 3 days. Refrigerate. Use as desired.

Prepare beet noodles (1-8 hours prior)

Cut beet into very thin ‘noodles.’ I use a spiralizer, which creates long noodles. Add ume plum vinegar and honey. Let marinate for at least 1 hour, massaging occasionally with a clean hand.

Remove one bundle of kale leaves. Rinse.

Lay out kale leaf flat with point towards oneself. You may need to trim a little bit of hard stem from the base of the leaf, leaving leaf intact.

Lay golden beet noodles over about ½ of the leaf. In the middle, from edge-to-edge, layer single slices of bacon, cucumber, carrot, red onion, hazelnuts, and red serrano.

Lightly roll kale leaf sushi-roll-fashion from the leaf tip end so that the beet surrounds the internal ingredients.

Slice rolled kale into ½ – ¾-inch slices. Place decoratively on a plate and serve.