The kale experiment continues

I have just about decided that the lacinato kale that Whole Foods carries has become my favorite green.  Also known as Tuscan kale, it's dark green, pebbly leaves cook up to tender morsels that are a very pleasing color to the eye.  Inspired by an Anita Lo dish published in the Wall Street journal, I took a shot at my own version.

The dish involved Kabocha squash, which didn't seem to be around this time of year, so I substituted butternut squash.  The WSJ recipe called for simply slicing and roasting the squash, but it also mentioned that Anita makes gnocchi out of it for the restaurant version, so I decided to roast my squash and make gnocchi.

don't often use the gnarly cleaver, but it is

perfect for splitting open a squash

Roasted for 45 minutes or so in a 350 degree oven, the flesh is ready to puree.

I added nutmeg, salt, and freshly ground white pepper to the puree

then I folded in two beaten egg whites

As before, I chose to omit the egg yolk from my gnocchi, and beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, folding them into the seasoned puree, which created something like a mousse.

Into the airy mousse, I incorporated just enough flour to form a soft dough

I rolled that dough out into "ropes" and cut off little gnocchi squares.  I had never tried sauteing gnocchi before, and the article said that is what Anita does at Annisa, so I gave it a whirl.  I sauted the little pillows in butter until they were golden brown, then drained them over paper towels.

 The sauted gnocchi turned out golden brown, and tasted great,

but they were a little too chewy

Though I wasn't particularly pleased with the texture of the gnocchi, I really loved the taste.  Jim and I are not huge squash fans, and I didn't know if we would care for the strong squash punch from the roasted slices of squash in the dish.  The gnocchi were a good way to get the vegetal sweetness of the squash without letting it overpower the whole dish.

The sauce was simplicity itself.  Sliced wild mushrooms, Tuscan kale with the center rib removed, and the leaves sliced.  A little bit of chicken stock, salt, pepper, fresh sage, parmesan, and a last minute swirl of butter.  It came together in just 15 minutes.

I had criminis in the fridge, and I bought a handful of shitakes--

sauted in a whisper of olive oil, they added a meaty texture to the dish

in went the gorgeous kale, along with a little salt and pepper,

and  some chicken broth-- I added a bit of white wine as well

Some sliced fresh sage goes in, and then a last minute swirl of butter to thicken the sauce a bit.  Parmesan gets shaved on top, and dinner is served, along with a nice thin slice of garlic toast, made with garlic infused olive oil.

A pretty dish, loaded with vegetables and interesting flavors

I will certainly revisit this dish in the future.  Since I wasn't all that happy with the texture of the gnocchi, I think next time I will make pasta out of the squash.  And for the next go around, I will use more broth for a moister sauce.  But all in all, the dish had a simple and lovely flavor profile -- making it very worthy of future tweeks.

I am doing a door-knock dinner tonight with some shrimp and scallops in the freezer.  I am thinking that the kale I have left will make another appearance, as might some arugula and red peppers.  Stay tuned for further updates on the kale experiments...