Coconut Creamed Kale

From Ali Slagle/ New York Times

Loving my kale!

This dish puts a warm Asian spin on the hardy green—plenty of which continues to come in the Twenty Bag CSA from Harleston Towles’ Edisto-based Rooting Down Farms.

I was feeling a little sketchy about the various types of coconut milk and cream on the grocer’s shelf, so I did some research before I started collecting ingredients. I found that full-fat coconut milk has fat content of anywhere from 11 to14 grams, zero added sugar, and comes in a tin, not a paper container like the ones that are used for almond and rice milk drinks. At the top of the pack were a couple of Thai products: Chaokoh, weighing in at 14 grams of fat, and Thai Coco, ditto, but with the added ingredient of guar gum, a thickening agent which some purists prefer to avoid. Other reviewers say they noted no difference in the texture of the milk containing guar gum.

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

2 (13-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk

2 tablespoons Madras curry powder

1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)

1 teaspoon sambal oelek or Sriracha

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 large bunches curly kale (about 1 pound), stems removed, leaves torn into 3-inch pieces

½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes

PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 3-quart/9-by-13-inch baking pan, use a fork to stir together the coconut milk, curry powder, ginger and sambal oelek. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a generous grind of black pepper.

Add half the kale and use your hands to toss to coat. Add the remaining kale, season with salt and pepper, and massage with your hands so that the volume decreases a bit, and the kale no longer extends above the pan’s edge. Toss just once or twice so some of the kale is coated in sauce.

Bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with coconut flakes, then continue to bake until the sauce has thickened and the kale on top is crisp, another 10 to 15 minutes, keeping an eye on the coconut flakes to avoid burning. Serve warm