This Week's Kitchen
Every week we pick a handful of what's coming out of the ground in biggest supply and build a few simple meals around it to help you with your meal planning. This week it's curly kale — tender, frilly and full of flavour, whether it's crisped in the oven, simmered into a soup or massaged into a salad. Here's what we're cooking with it.
1. Crispy Curly Kale Chips with Lemon & Sea Salt
Crunchy, salty and gone in minutes. Curly kale is made for crisping: the frills turn lacy and golden in the oven.
Time: 25 min · Serves: 4 as a snack or side · Featuring: Curly Kale
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch curly kale
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Squeeze of lemon juice
- Optional: 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Method
- Heat the oven to 150°C and line two trays with baking paper.
- Strip the leaves from the thick stalks and tear into bite-sized pieces. Wash and dry them very well — wet kale steams instead of crisping.
- Toss with the olive oil and salt, rubbing it in with your hands so every frill is coated.
- Spread in a single layer, not touching, and bake 15–20 minutes, turning the trays halfway, until crisp but not browned.
- Finish with the lemon zest and a squeeze of juice. Eat the same day.
Make it a meal — choose your protein
- Vegan — serve with a bowl of hummus and roasted chickpeas.
- Vegetarian — serve with a creamy feta or yoghurt and garlic dip.
- This week's meat option — serve as a crunchy topping on a baked potato with crisp bacon or shredded chicken.
2. Creamy White Bean, Curly Kale & Garlic Soup
A cosy, filling soup. Blending part of it makes it creamy without any cream.
Time: 35 min · Serves: 4 · Featuring: Curly Kale
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 potatoes, diced
- 1 litre vegetable stock
- 1 can (400 g) white beans, drained
- 1 large bunch curly kale, stalks removed and leaves shredded
- Salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon
- Crusty bread, to serve
Method
- Soften the onion in the olive oil over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Add the potato, stock and beans. Simmer 15 minutes until the potato is tender.
- Stir in the kale and cook a further 5 minutes until just tender.
- Blend about a third of the soup with a stick blender, leaving the rest chunky. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
- Serve hot with crusty bread.
Make it a meal — choose your protein
- Vegan — as written, with a drizzle of olive oil and crusty bread.
- Vegetarian — top with grated parmesan or a soft-boiled egg.
- This week's meat option — add sliced cooked sausage or crispy bacon pieces.
3. Massaged Curly Kale Salad with Roasted Pumpkin & Tahini
Kale is tough raw until you massage it, then it turns tender and sweet. Warm pumpkin and a nutty tahini dressing do the rest.
Time: 40 min · Serves: 4 as a main · Featuring: Curly Kale
Ingredients
- 500 g pumpkin, cut into 2 cm cubes
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the kale
- 1 large bunch curly kale, stalks removed and leaves shredded
- Juice of 1 lemon, divided
- Salt
- 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
Method
- Toss the pumpkin with 2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast at 200°C for 25 minutes until golden.
- Put the kale in a large bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, half the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Massage with your hands for 2 minutes until dark, glossy and tender.
- Whisk the tahini, remaining lemon juice, water and honey until smooth and pourable.
- Add the warm pumpkin to the kale, top with the seeds and drizzle with the dressing.
Make it a meal — choose your protein
- Vegan — add a can of chickpeas, roasted with the pumpkin.
- Vegetarian — crumble over feta or add a boiled egg.
- This week's meat option — top with warm grilled chicken or crisp bacon.
This Week's Simple Menu
One way to use your veggies without repeating a meal. Every night now has a vegan, vegetarian and meat option so everyone at the table is covered — the meat options below are this week's picks from our friends at Richo's Regen Farm (formerly Chef2Farmer), and we'll update them together each week based on what they've got.
| Day | Meal | Veg Used | Vegan | Vegetarian | Meat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Creamy White Bean, Curly Kale & Garlic Soup | Curly Kale | As written, with crusty bread | Topped with parmesan or a soft-boiled egg | Sliced cooked sausage or crispy bacon |
| Wed | Massaged Curly Kale Salad with Roasted Pumpkin & Tahini | Curly Kale | Roasted chickpeas | Feta or boiled egg | Warm grilled chicken or crisp bacon |
| Fri | Crispy Curly Kale Chips with Lemon & Sea Salt, with baked potatoes | Curly Kale | Hummus and roasted chickpeas | Creamy feta and garlic dip | Crisp bacon or shredded chicken |
Any leftover kale is great chopped into scrambled eggs, stirred through pasta or blitzed into a green smoothie.