Kale has been a staple in my kitchen for the last few months – its season runs from around October but I find it’s best between January and now. I’ve made just about everything I can think of with this wintry green and so I took to Pinterest in search of inspiration. Type ‘kale recipes’ into Pinterest and you’ll be smacked in the face with enough kale salads and green smoothies to start a collective. That’s all well and good but I am personally so repulsed by the thought of eating raw kale it’s a wonder I keep buying the stuff!
So, here I am fighting kale’s corner with helpings from naughty friends cheese and pastry. I’ve used ready rolled puff pastry here because I’m a cheat who doesn’t like to bake. Call the food blog police and shut me down now! We’ve spoken before about how my love for baking starts and ends with The Great British Bake Off. You remember, right? Cool.
I’m sharing this recipe in collaboration with the wonderful Abi from These Four Walls and if you haven’t seen her blog already please do take yourself over there now (after making the tart immediately of course).
Ingredients
makes 4 small tarts
- 150g kale, leaves stripped from stems and chopped
- 3 small onions, finely sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 320g ready rolled puff pastry sheet
- 12 – 15 cooked chestnuts, finely chopped (optional – just stick with ordinary pastry if you prefer)
- 100g cheddar cheese, grated
- 50g parmesan cheese (optional)
- plain flour
- olive oil
Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas mark 4 and line a large baking tray with parchment paper.
- If using, sprinkle the chestnuts over one half of the rolled pastry sheet. Fold over the other half to cover and press down.
- Divide the half into four rectangles. On a floured surface roll each rectangle out into tart size, roughly a couple of mm thick. Transfer the pastry sheets to the lined baking tray.
- In a frying pan, heat around 2 tbsp of oil and add the onions. Once sizzling, turn the heat down and allow to cook over a moderately low heat for 15 mins until they are starting to caramelise. Give them a stir every once in a while so they don’t burn.
- Add the chopped garlic to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the kale. Stir everything together and cook over a low heat for a further 5 minutes. Season well.
- Divide the kale mixture across your four pastry squares, allowing a 1cm border of space around the edges. Top with the cheddar cheese.
- Fold the edges of each pastry over so that it overlaps the filling slightly.
- Grate as much or as little parmesan cheese over the pastries as you like and drizzle with a little oil.
- Bake in the oven until the bases are golden and the edges are puffed up.
