Fried Rice with Massaged Kale

I'm probably the last one on the massaged kale bandwagon, and I'm OK with that.  Alanna taught me that you could massage olive oil into torn pieces of kale to soften it for a great raw kale salad.  What I took a chance on was the idea of using massaged kale in a quickly-cooked dish--would it work?

I'm happy to share that it does work.  Our fried rice repertoire has now expanded to include kale, and my kids are enjoying kale not only in soup and in pizza dough, but also in fried rice. Green smoothies, too.  Tomorrow, the world! This is huge in my book.  I mean, my spouse and I enjoy every item in our large CSA share, one way or another.  Our farmers are amazing, their land is very productive, and the kids seem to want to eat multiple times a day, so it really works well if I can use the CSA bounty in a way that also feeds my children.  Double win!

NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/

http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Fried Rice with Massaged Kale (serves 2-4)

4-6 cups loosely packed kale, torn from stems and then torn into bite-sized pieces

olive oil and cooking oil

3-4 eggs, beaten 

1/2 to 1 cup thinly sliced spring onions

1-2 ounces thinly sliced ham, cut into strips (optional)

3 cups cold cooked rice

1/2 cup vegetable broth

Dribble a small amount of olive oil onto the torn kale, and work it through your fingers, rubbing each leaf to coat with oil.  A small amount goes a long way.  Set aside.  Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add a turn of cooking oil, and add the eggs.  Scramble lazily by ignoring them for the most part, lifting up the cooked edges now and again to let the runny egg flow under, then when there's nothing left to flow, maneuvering a large turner underneath the egg and deftly flipping the entire thing over for a minute to finish.  Set aside, and chop into bite-sized pieces while the onions are sautéing.  Add a bit more oil to the skillet, and sauté the onions for 3 minutes until they start to soften.  Add the kale to the onions, and stir a couple of minutes, then add (optional) ham, egg, and rice to the skillet.  Stir to combine, pour vegetable broth over top, and heat through.

This post is shared with the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' Wednesday, What's In The Box, Food on Friday, From The Farm Blog Hop, Clever Chicks Blog Hop