While kale has risen in popularity over the last couple of years, it has been a staple ingredient in many European countries for decades. This luxurious and warming kale pie recipe features kale, cheese, and cream, flavored with nutmeg and beef stock for an extra-rich flavor. If you prefer lacto-ovo vegetarian, simply leave out the stock or substitute vegetable stock instead.
Kale tastes even more delicious and sweeter after the first frost during cold autumn nights, or if you pop it in the freezer a couple of hours before cooking.
This is what you need to make the pie crust:
300 ml flour
4 tablespoons of ice-cold water
½ tablespoon of salt
152 grams of cold butter
How you make the kale pie crust:
Add flour, salt and ice-cold water to a bowl.
Cut the butter into smaller pieces and quickly work the dough with a knife.
When combined, flatten out the dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes.
When the dough is rested, roll it out and place it into a pie dish 28 cm in diameter.
Prick holes throughout the crust and place the pie crust in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C and start making the filling.
This is what you need to make the pie filling:
600 grams of fresh kale
3 eggs
200 ml cooking cream
1 pinch of white pepper
1 pinch of black pepper
½ tablespoon of salt
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of concentrated beef stock or a bouillon cube
100 ml grated Mozzarella or Gouda cheese
100 ml grated Parmesan or other strong, hard cheese
How you make the kale pie and filling:
Quickly blanch the kale and set it aside to cool.
When the kale is cooled, squeeze out as much of the water as possible.
Roughly chop the kale and place them into a bowl.
Add eggs, cream, salt, pepper, beef stock and nutmeg to the bowl and stir until combined.
Blind bake the pie crust for 12 minutes in the lower part of the oven or until golden.
Add the filling to the pie crust and bake the pie for another 30 minutes or until the pie has completely set and turned golden on top.
Enjoy with a chilled beer, snaps and a fresh salad on the side.
