Have you heard of kalettes?

No, kalettes is not a name of a new girl-band. Kalettes, are in fact a 4 years-old crossbreeding of kale and Brussel sprouts and not a genetically modified creation where scientists interfere with the DNA of the plants. They come from the brassica family. The first time I heard of them I thought they sounded like a “Frankenfood” but fortunately they are not. They look like little flowers. Really pretty. Taste a bit nutty and are less bitter than Brussel sprouts.

Last week I couldn’t resist and bought a pack of kalettes from a local shop, but I had a busy weekend and they ended up forgotten in the fridge. Two days ago, I decided to raid the fridge and use everything available in the vegetable drawer, plus the mixed rice I had made the day before. I ended up with a beautiful, colourful winter Buddha bowl for lunch.

The dish was an exercise in improvisation. As a result, this week I won’t write a formal recipe. Below, I explain how I put the ingredients together.

I soaked them first.

After seasoned, they were ready to go to the oven.

Roasted Kalettes.

My improvised mixed rice with nuts and kalettes, roasted vegetables & halloumi.

Improvised kalettes Buddha bowl

I washed the kalettes by soaking them in water and vinegar. After 15 minutes, I rinsed and dried them in a spinner.
I placed them in a bowl, then drizzled them with some extra-virgin olive oil, garlic granules, chilli flakes and sea-salt. Roasted them for about 10-15 minutes at a 180C. When they were cooked, I squeezed some lemon juice over them and added them to the cooked mixed rice (brown, red Camargue and wild rice). Followed by some roasted cashew and pine-nuts, sour cherries and parsley. Drizzled some olive oil and seasoned to taste.

I added to the bowl some roasted sweet-potatoes with roasted black sesame seed, roasted small peppers and fried halloumi cheese.

As well as roasting the kalettes, you can also sautée, stir-fry, steam or just add raw leaves to salads.
 
A healthy note: Kalettes are rich sources of vitamins C and K. Vitamin K helps to prevent heart disease and is important for the health of the bones. It also prevents blood-clotting. Both Brussel sprouts and kale are loaded with compounds that are believed to been linked to cancer prevention.  

Till next week!