One hitch to eating light in the month of January is that although you want a new start after the rich and fatty foods of December, you can't help but notice that it's still awfully cold outside. Rich, creamy, starchy foods are what we want during this time of year, but we also crave the healthy energy that comes of eating lighter foods. So we keep a sharp lookout for foods that are nourishing and comforting but still light.
Here's a new recipe we just found in Gourmet that promises this happy medium.
This recipe is utterly simple: kale, potatoes, cream, salt and pepper. Yes, this simple purée calls for cream, but it's spread over a large amount -- enough for eight servings. The potatoes lighten a dish that looks like pure creamed spinach, making it something altogether lighter and even more appealing.
In fact, we think that this looks like a great one-dish meal for those of us going without meat this winter, and we wonder if we could lighten it up even more by cooking the potatoes in milk, or even in chicken stock.
• Get the recipe: Kale and Potato Purée
Related: Eat Light! "Things I Find in the Refrigerator" Soup
(Image: John Kernick for Gourmet Magazine)
Wow, that photograph makes me want that RIGHT NOW!
view cmcinnyc's profile
I made this just like you're thinking of--cooked the potatoes in skim milk and added no cream or butter.
It was fantastic. Even Husband the Reluctant Kale-Eater scarfed it. Leftovers were great spread on some homemade rolls the next day for lunch!
view lasomnambule's profile
cooking potatoes in milk? i may have missed something obvious here, but i've never done that before. do you cook them the same way you would normally? brilliant!
view shayna r's profile
I'm glad to hear this will work using milk because there is no way my husband will eat these made with cream (it doesn't agree with his stomach).
view cmcinnyc's profile
I often substitute evaporated skim milk for cream in soups and dishes like this - a slightly richer alternative to a straight skim milk-cream substitution.
view nwu's profile
This looks delicious and will have to give it a try as kale is one of those items I see repeatedly at the farmers market yet never buy because I don't want to be stuck braising or sauteeing it again.
As for the poster who wasn't sure about cooking her potatoes in milk, this is something I started doing when making potatoes au gratin.
view rosebud's profile
on the actual recipe page there is one comment - "potatoes in a food processor? isn't that a recipe for glue?"
i found that one out the hard way. i'm guessing processing it along with the kale helps the texture...thoughts?
view akostalas's profile
oh i have no doubts, just not sure how to go about it. do i cook them in a combination of water and milk or just straight milk? can i use the milk for something after it's been used to cook potatoes?
view shayna r's profile
aha, helps to read the recipe all of the way through :)
will be trying this tonight.
view shayna r's profile