Creamy Kale Gratin

Don’t be fooled by the fancy French term “gratin”; this is just a delicious casserole, one that is guaranteed to get everyone in your family eating their greens. You could also make this gratin with other greens by substituting for the curly kale an equal amount (about 2 cups) of cooked spinach, chard, Red Russian kale or Dinosaur kale. You could also add cooked, crumbled bacon to this dish. For the best results, be sure to use a shallow baking dish. (I like an oval gratin dish that is about 12 inches long and 1½ inches deep.) I use Pepperidge Farm sandwich bread and pulse it in a food processor to make my breadcrumbs.

½ tsp. unsalted butter
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano Regianno cheese
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2¼ tsp. kosher salt, more for breadcrumbs
1 bunch curly kale (about 12 to 13 oz.), stemmed, leaves ripped into two-inch pieces, to yield about 7 oz.
1 cup heavy cream
½ tsp. minced fresh garlic
freshly ground pepper
1 cup grated gruyere or Swiss cheese

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Rub a 5- or 6-cup shallow baking dish with the butter. In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano cheese, the olive oil, and a pinch of salt.

Fill a wide 4- to 5-quart Dutch-oven-style pot three-quarters full with water and 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Add the kale to the boiling water and start timing immediately. Cook until the kale is tender (not rubbery), 5 to 7 minutes. Drain the kale in a colander and rinse it with cool water until cool enough to handle. Press and squeeze as much water out of it as possible. Transfer the kale to a mixing bowl by the handful, giving each one last squeeze.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream to a boil, watching it carefully. As soon as it boils, turn the heat down, and simmer the cream for 5 minutes. (It will reduce by about a quarter. If it over-reduces, add a bit of unreduced heavy cream to it). Take the cream off the heat and stir in the minced garlic, the ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and a few grinds of fresh pepper.

Add the remaining Parmigiano and the gruyere cheese to the mixing bowl of kale. Loosely toss everything together and arrange the mixture evenly in the gratin dish. Pour and drizzle the cream over all and press the greens with a spatula to let the cream surround them. Cover the gratin evenly with the breadcrumb mixture.

Bake the gratin until the crumbs are well browned and the cream has reduced below the top of the gratin, 20 to 25 min.

Serves 4

Recipe by Susie Middleton