Cavolo nero is also called black Tuscan cabbage. I have also seen it called Black kale. It is not black in colour, it is a very deep green, the leaves long, thin and curly. I constantly find myself in situations where I end up explaining to others how to clean and how to cook it. It gives me great satisfaction (I feel like a know-all). This morning it happened twice at the Queen Victoria Market. Once at the stall where I was buying it, and again a little later as I was walking along carrying it in my basket. And it happened last week as well.
Here are three ways you can enjoy it:
- Ribollita (soup)
- Crostini
- Contorno ( vegetable side dish)
RIBOLLITA
Cavolo nero is prolific in Tuscany and is one of the main ingredients in the famous Tuscan soup called ribollita. Bollita (soup is a feminine word) means boiled, so the soup is called reboiled, and it is.
Ribollita is made with cannellini, other greens (beets, cabbage), tomatoes, red onion, garlic, celery, carrots, leeks and cavolo nero. Once the soup is made, it is then layered with good quality 1-2 day old bread and left to rest for at least 24 hours; the flavours intensify when it rests.
When the soup is ready to eat, a little extra virgin olive oil is added and then it is reboiled. It is one of those soups that never die – leave it all week.
Have you ever eaten Tuscan bread? Wonderful stuff. Thickening and eating soup with the bread is what contadini, (peasants, on the land) have always done. This custom is very much like the French who ladle soupe over a slice of bread – pain de campagne. The quality and character of the bread is important, it adds flavour. Good bread lasts one week and many say that it improves with age.
On CROSTINI
One other way to eat cavolo nero is on crostini.
Use slices of good quality bread, grill them, and while they’re still hot rub them with a cut clove of garlic and drizzle with good quality extra virgin olive oil.
Strip the leaves off the tough stalks (I usually only remove the toughest bits of the stalks at the end of the leaf), wilt till soft, drain well and cool.
Add salt freshly ground black pepper, and a little extra virgin olive oil.
Mix well and place a little of the cooked vegetable on the hot crostini. Drizzle with more olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Place on slices of bread fried in extra virgin olive oil until crisp (crostini).
As a CONTORNO (a vegetable accompaniment)
I cook cavolo nero the same way as Italians cook most greens: it is first wilted then tossed around in oil and garlic and salt. Unlike most Italians who like their vegetables soft, I skip the wilting process and sauté them in oil and garlic, add salt and pepper, a splash of liquid (stock, white wine or water) and cook till softened (It is tougher than silverbeet and will take longer to cook).
In photo below, braised greens as an accompaniment to sauteed chicken livers.
Hello Marisa,
I love organic Cavolo Nero I buy from Prahran Market, in Melbourne, Australia.
I love your methods to prepare Cavolo Nero in a meal, all of which I will use.
I boil it with a small amount Himalayan salt & keep the water to make a soup with garlic, a little chilli, adding stir fried chicken breast pieces just before serving. My partner also likes the soup with 1/2 cup white wine.
I have a query:
I use a wok in which I’ve quickly stir fried diced chicken breast in good quality olive oil, remove the chicken & keep it in a seperate bowl covered with a lid.
I add a little more oil with garlic & chilli for a minute in the wok, then add the wine plus 4-5 large cups of kale water.
This needs to simmer for 20 minutes to reduce the alcohol content, as I am epileptic & can’t drink alcohol. This method, however, also reduces the kale water which I want to keep.
Do you suggest reducing the mix of kale liquid together with the wine, or reduce the wine on its own & add this to the kale liquid with garlic, chilli & finally the stir fried chicken pieces.
I would really appreciate your comments on this, as this is a favourite weekly meal.
Sorry for the late reply, I have been away camping.
As for answering your query about wine I think I would evaporate the wine on its own. You are not adding much wine but this seems a safer method.
What you describe you do with the Cavolo Nero would also be terrific if you used Cime Di Rapa. You probably know of this green leafy vegetable already and the Prahran Market is likely to add it, especially if you have a stall holder of Italian hertage. If you are not familiar with this green leafy vegetable there are photos and recipes on my website. It is seasonal and the time is now. At times I may have called it Cime Di Rape (plural) and if you are using the find button you may need to use both terms.