low-key tuscan kale gratin
I’m not really somebody who engages in the business of “side dishes,” but whenever I run out of steam and ideas this is one of my defaults to throw together with some kind of boring protein, usually a piece of chicken. I originally discovered this during a low-key 2020 Friendsgiving, and it was almost offensively easy to throw together. It tasted like it took work, though, which is what really counts.
All you do is pile the tuscan kale in a dish, add cream, a grate of nutmeg and a sprinkle of chili flakes, salt, and some sharp shredded cheddar. That’s it. You bake it for awhile and it turns into chips in a vague cheesy custard sauce. It’s originally based on this recipe from Food52, only I started experimenting with less and less cream and found it really didn’t hurt anything to cut the quantity virtually in half, which is about all the cream anybody wants to eat on a decidedly unspecial Wednesday night.
People I know who don’t like kale like this dish. Kale haters won’t believe this. But neither did the kale haters I converted with it until after they’d tried it. But I get it. It sounds like it would be as kale-y as everything else you don’t like. No other greens really work in it, though, because they get too soggy. You will just have to trust me when I say that the cheesy chip quality is its redemption. But if you’re not sold, maybe ask someone else to make it for you. That way you’ve got no investment, and nothing to lose but your own kale loathing!
RECIPE
A super simple, hands-off side dish that goes with just about anything you’re serving during the holiday season. Tender lacinato kale leaves are loosely torn and baked in a velvety nutmeg cream sauce, topped with crispy-melty sharp white cheddar cheese for a green gratin that’s somewhere between creamed kale and a kale chip.
Effortful time: <5 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes
Serves 4-6, easily cut in half for weeknights
YOU NEED
2 large bunches of Tuscan / Lacinato kale, ribs removed — I have also done this with TJ’s chopped Lacinato in a bag, so feel free to get lazy about it (use the whole bag)
1/2 tsp. of freshly grated nutmeg (I run a nutmeg nug on a microplane grater about 25 times)
1 tsp. salt, I like Maldon here for the shatter-y salty edges
1 cup heavy cream
A pinch of chili flakes
3/4 cup shredded sharp white cheddar
Freshly cracked pepper, for serving
MAKE IT
Get prepped. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the kale ribs and tear it up. Grate the nutmeg into the cream.
Pile up the kale. You want to use a casserole dish that is too small for the kale. You want it to look like a mountain. This helps ensure it collapses in on itself and concentrates rather than just adhering to the dish like kale nachos.
Assemble the gratin. Pour over the nutmeg cream. Sprinkle with chili flakes and salt, and top with the shredded cheese.
Bake the gratin. Check at 40 minutes. If the outside is browned, the cream is thick, and the kale has reduced to fit in the dish, you’re good! Otherwise, cook it for 10 min longer. I did.
Finish and serve. Grate freshly cracked pepper on top. I like to serve this with simple salt-and-pepper grilled chicken thighs, sliced oven-roasted pork tenderloin, or with steaks as an alternative to creamed spinach.