Cavolo Nero
aka Lacinato Kale, Dinosaur Kale,
Glorious Tuscan Black Cabbage
This time of year when you drive around the Tuscan countryside you’ll probably see gardens with neat rows of a strange looking plant that looks like a little palm tree but missing the leaves. What you’re looking at is a harvested cavolo nero plant. Known here as lacinato kale of dinosaur kale, the Tuscan black cabbage is a winter staple that is absolutely delicious and central to the winter kitchen of Tuscan cooks. Young leaves can be harvested as soon as 2 months after planting but left to grow this wonderful vegetable can be harvested up until the first hard frost. Although some country folk maintain it is better after the first frost which tenderizes the fibrous dimpled, leaves which resemble ostrich plumes before picking. It’s a VERY hearty vegetable.
When I lived in Tuscany I had rows and rows of it in the garden or “l’orto” as it’s called in Italian. I usually had very big batches of it so I would blanch it and drain it and squeeze out the excess water , chop it and put it in a plastic bag for freezing. I’d usually put it in 10 oz. packages like the boxes of frozen spinach we can buy here. That way I could approximate how much I had in US measurements.
I had some favorite ways to use it and one was in pasta. Here’s what I did:
Defrost the cavolo nero and saute with plenty of sliced garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile cook a short pasta. The traditional shape for this dish is the farfalle or bow tie pasta. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted, boiling water. While the pasta is cooking shave some ( be generous) pieces of pecorino cheese over the cavolo nero. When the pasta is finished cooking ladle it out of the pot with a slotted spoon and add to the cavolo nero. It will need the extra pasta water to make a nice sauce. And always save a little of the pasta water if the pasta seems to dry. Cook another minute or so. Farfalle is always a little tricky because you have to get the little pinch in the middle to be as soft as the rest of the piece. You might want to cook the pasta one minute less than the box directions and continue cooking it with the cavolo nero until you are satisfied with the al dente quality of the pasta.
Another way to use cavolo nero is as a topping for ” fettunta” or garlic bread. Toast a nice big slice of crusty bread. You can use a baguette. Rub it with a clove of raw garlic. Saute some onion and pancetta and a few red pepper flakes and add the chopped cavolo nero. Cook until everything is soft and blended and then top the toasted bread and anoint with extra virgin olive oil.
Cavolo nero is essential for ribolitta, the bread based kale, bean and vegetable soup found all over Tuscany or it can be served as a side dish with just about anything. So when you see this in the produce aisle and wonder what to do with it here are a few ideas for dinner or an appetizer.
Buon Appetito!
The Tuscan Heart 