Over the summer, I adopted the AIP diet and must have sautéed kale with garlic and onions 50 times! Kale was the one plant that I grew successfully from Spring to Fall, which is great because I honestly never tire of it in salads with some lemon garlic sauce or sautéed as a fast side dish.
Over the years, I've learned that the key with bitter greens is to use contrasting flavors. Sautéing kale makes for a hearty, nutritious side that has great flavor with garlic, salt, and onion mellowing the bitterness. My dad actually couldn't believe he was eating kale because it completely lacked the bitterness he was expecting.
As I was cooking my way through 15 kale plants, I stumbled upon many new AIP dinners but one really stood out: cauliflower puree, crispy chicken thighs, and sautéed Lacinato kale with capers and lemon juice. Honestly, I'm a sucker for anything with capers and lemon.
[feast_advanced_jump_to]🥬Ingredients
- ¼ cup onion: I like the flavor of shallot and leek but you could thinly slice any onion you have on hand such as red, yellow, or white; if you don't have onion, you could omit this ingredient and just use the garlic
- fat: you need some type of fat and I almost always have olive oil or avocado oil in the pantry, but you could also use tallow, lard, or coconut oil (all great options for AIP)
- kale is the star ingredient, but just know that you could really use any greens here or any variety of kale. I really enjoy Lacinato or dinosaur kale which is slightly sweeter and nuttier than other varieties. Kale contains Vitamins A, C, and K and is a smart option if you are trying to balance your blood sugar
- sea salt: a pinch or two of sea salt or Himalayan salt (no iodized salt) helps to suppress the bitter flavor and soften the texture of the kale
🎥 Sauté Slice Video
Watch how-to cut an onion [Time: 3 minutes]. This "sauté slice" is the best way to cut an onion for you-guessed-it: sautéing!
🔪 Instructions
As you can see, a knife is the best way to remove the stem of your kale. I always just compost the stems because you wouldn't want to use them in broth (yuck).
Briefly heat the shallot, followed by the garlic, just to release flavor but not necessarily to brown. Be prepared to add the kale quickly.
I like to cook the kale briefly and remove it from the heat when tender but still vibrant in color so as to preserve as much nutrition as possible.
With this base recipe, you can expand and experiment by adding a splash of bone broth. My family really loves lemon juice and capers! Let me know if you try it.
🍳Recipe
This recipe is really just a fundamental cooking technique. It's adapted from a recipe I shared on How to Cook Collard Greens. As I mention, you can substitute any bitter greens for the kale. My favorite is Lacinato kale.
Sautéed Kale with Garlic and Onions {AIP}
Ingredients
- 1 shallot thinly sliced or about ¼ cup sliced onion (red, yellow, white, or leeks)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ pounds kale I like Lacinato for it's texture and flavor
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the kale. Stack the kale two leaves at a time and use a chef's knife to cut as closely to the stem as you can to remove as much of the stem as you want. You can leave the stem in, but your kale will be much more fibrous. Slice the leaves into thin ¼-inch strips.
- Sauté in the skillet. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallot and sauté, stirring occasionally for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds just to release some of the flavor. Do not brown the garlic or it will impart a bitter taste. Add the kale and season with a pinch of salt. Stir occasionally and cook just until you see the green color deepen. Serve warm.
Nutrition
🍽 Equipment and Scaling
Base Recipe Yield (serves 4): For this recipe, you will need a large sauté pan; I love cast iron and stainless steel cookware. Just be sure to heat the oil before adding the food, that way, it's less likely to stick to the pan.
Scaling Up (x2, x3): I've scaled this recipe and used the sauté setting on my slow cooker (it holds a larger volume of the kale). When scaling the ingredients, just be sure to salt lightly at the beginning and adjust the salt at the end, to taste.
📖 Variations
- Use whatever greens you have on hand. Arugula, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, bok choy, or dandelion greens would all work well with onion and garlic and you might just have to play around with increasing or reducing the cook time, depending on how tender the greens are.
- Saucy and Tangy Kale (a family favorite): Add a splash of bone broth, lemon juice, or capers at the end. You could even thicken the sauce with a slurry (1 teaspoon tapioca starch plus ¼ cup bone broth).
- Mushrooms: Try adding sliced mushrooms when you cook the onions. They will impart umami flavor and a meaty texture. My personal favorite is morel mushrooms but shiitake (sliced thinly) is incredible, too.
- Cheesy Kale: Add a large pinch of nutritional yeast right at the end for a cheese-like version that's AIP-compliant.
- Asian-inspired: You could add a splash of coconut aminos add the end for a Teriyaki flavor. I've also added minced ginger/galangal and turmeric along with the garlic and onions. Lemongrass or Thai basil would be phenomenal, too.
🥗 How to Serve
Bitter greens can be served in many ways, including in soups, pastas, or as sides to proteins. When working with bitter greens, consider adding contrasting flavors:
- Sweet vegetables: Bitter greens work incredibly well with sweet vegetables like roasted cubed sweet potato or squash.
- Add acid: As a general rule, the more bitter the green, the more you want to consider pairing it with citrus (like this lemon garlic sauce).
- Add strong flavors: Balance the bitterness with strong flavors, like spices, garlic, or salty ingredients like bacon, anchovies.
- Add salt: Salt can help cut through bitterness.
- Braise: If you want your kale to be very tender, you could braise them in bone broth for 1 hour on low heat. Braising is also a great way to reduce bitterness.
