Kale Gratin

SRC October 2013

My assigned blog for this month's Secret Recipe Club was Grandma Loy's Kitchen. It proved to be a treasure chest of tempting recipes, greeting readers with this message: "Hi and welcome to my kitchen. Have a cup of tea or coffee or a glass of milk and some cookies. There are always cookies." Oh my, yes, there were cookies, and many other sweet things. I found recipes for 42 bar cookies and brownies, 9 cakes, 10 candies, 47 cookies, 28 desserts and 16 holiday cookie mix listings. I'm not overly fond of sweets, but Loy's Waffle cookies did sound interesting, unusual but interesting. The Bacon Cheese Dogs and BLT Salad with Kale and Leeks grabbed my attention too; mmmmmmm, bacon. But the Serbian Cabbage was a standout choice to match the current cool weather. 

I took a few liberties with the original recipe, substituting kale for head cabbage and using fresh dairy instead of canned. Kale Gratin sounds fancy but it is still just baked cabbage. Baked cabbage, yes, but this delicious gratin was more versatile than that. It began as a satisfying side dish at dinner. It worked well for breakfast, topped with a runny poached egg. Then I absolutely fell in love with a scoop of Kale Gratin served on top of garlic-rubbed crostini as an appetizer. How's that for versatile?

RL was less enthusiastic about any of the versions, but he doesn't love kale anything, and rarely eats eggs at breakfast. His main complaint comment was that baked Parmesan made the whole boat smell funky. (Yes, but only briefly.) One more caution: too much Parmesan is not a good thing when it bakes into a hard shell, so don't overdo the cheese. This recipe is really all about the kale.

Kale Gratin 

1 medium bunch kale
2 green onions, sliced in thin rounds
1 cup heavy cream (or substitute coconut milk) 
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of white pepper
Dash of hot sauce to taste (optional)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh shredded Parmesan
melted butter to drizzle over the top (optional)

1. Wash and chop 1 bunch of kale into bite-sized pieces, discarding the stems. Blanch briefly in boiling water OR microwave for 1 minute with a few tablespoons of water, covered with plastic wrap. Drain thoroughly.
2. Scatter the kale evenly in a baking dish. Distribute the onion bits over the top.
3. Mix together the cream, nutmeg, white pepper and hot sauce. Pour over the kale.
4. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and Parmesan. 
5. Drizzle melted butter over the top. (optional step)
6. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven until the top begins to brown.

Here is the original recipe for
 Grandma Loy's Serbian Cabbage

1 medium-head cabbage (about 3 lbs.) finely shredded
1 can (13 oz.) evaporated milk (regular, 2 %, or fat-free)
2/3 to 1 c. dry bread crumbs (enough to evenly cover top of casserole)
1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted

Place cabbage in shallow 4-quart casserole.  (I use a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.)  Pour milk over; sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Evenly pour melted butter or margarine over the top.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Uncover; bake 30 minutes more or until crumbs are lightly browned and cabbage is tender.  Makes 6-8 servings.