Kale for Breakfast

So we’ll admit that the heading to this post is, indeed, counter-intuitive to the blog title, but have a little flexibility in your life. It’s the weekend and Breakfast is the new dinner.

On top of that, Kale has become a quiet obsession of ours. Ok, not so quiet if you’ve ever had a chance to look through our refrigerator.

This is a weekend favorite that is easy, tasty and often made in our place. It was cribbed from “The Five Ingredient Fix” and has become our own over the course of about a year.

It is creamed, sautéed and baked Kale & Eggs…

The stuff that makes this breakfast sing are bacon, Parmesan, and a little nutmeg. Now, if you are a veggie or you don’t like to eat a lot of pork, you can easily use veggie or turkey bacon instead and it brings the needed flavor – we’ve done both and have no complaints.

You are going to need large leaf kale, eggs, heavy cream, Parmesan, bacon (regular, turkey or veggie), nutmeg, salt and pepper.

First, find a medium skillet that can withstand going in the oven – cast iron works.

For 2 people:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Chop about 6-8 strips of bacon into small cubes. They will separate as you cook them, so don’t worry about that at the moment. Sauté the bacon in the skillet; add a little olive oil if you are not using regular, streaky bacon. Sauté over medium to high heat until browned. Remove from skillet leaving the grease/oil and drain until crispy in some paper towels.

Cut out the stems on 10-12 large leaf kale. Then chop the leaves into large pieces. Throw the chopped leaves into the same skillet (still greasy from the bacon, hopefully) and add a little salt. Sauté until wilted. About 2 minutes over medium heat.

Add about 1 cup heavy cream to this and simmer over medium heat until the cream is completely reduced to a thick paste stuck on the leaves. 3-5 minutes.

Add 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and the bacon. Remove from heat while stirring these in. Mix well until cheese is melted.

Create 3-4 “holes” in your kale mixture – places where you can see the bottom of your skillet, but unconnected to each other. Break your eggs into these spaces.

Put the skillet, uncovered, into the oven and bake until the whites are just firm but the yolks aren’t – about 5-8 minutes.

Remove and serve over toasted, crusty (e.g. Ciabatta) bread. Add pepper to taste.

Welcome to the weekend, people.