Kale rolls

So, back over the summer Ed and I were browsing around the farmer's market in Londonderry, trying not to spend all our money on a single bunch of kale (these veggies can be expensive at the farmers markets...), and totally got suckered into buying a deliciously tasty bread-stuff-with-kale-inside-it thing. I don't remember if it was loaf-shaped or what, but I do remember a deliciously crusty outer bit and lemon-y garlic-y kale mixture on the inside.  Too overpriced to buy more than one of these kale loaves, I set out to make one, but didn't quite get around to that until months after the initial experience.

These kale rolls are awesome.  They're basically a cinnamon bun, only instead of a flaky soft dough, they have the texture of a focaccia, crusty on the outside and moist on the inside.  I highly recommend making some of these.  They can be a hearty dinner roll, or just most of your lunch.  The garlic is a bit much for breakfast, I have to admit...

You need one recipe of normal bread.  I recommend ~2C warm water, ~1tsp yeast, ~1tsp sugar, and as much flour as that takes to get it to a kneadable state.  Knead, then let it rise an hour or two.

For the filling, dice some garlic (ok, lots of garlic, like 3-4 cloves), and toast that in a little olive oil.  Chop a big ol' bunch of kale into small pieces, and add to the garlic, adding more oil as needed and the juice from a lemon.  Cook until the kale leaves are at a texture you like them at - I like them with a little bite to them still, but I know some people like to overcook their greens till they're good and dead. Don't forget some salt and pepper.  The filling should taste pretty good on its own, once you're done with it.

Now roll out your dough to ~1/4-1/2" thickness.  It doesn't really matter; the thinner your dough, the more rolls of kale you get, the thicker your dough, the more bready it'll taste.  This is sort of like a pizza dough - one size does NOT fit all.  

Spread the kale filling across the entire rectangle of rolled-out dough.  You don't want the filling to be too thick, but you also don't want it too thin.  Not the most helpful of statements, sorry.  Roll the dough, starting with the long end, until you have a single snake.  Then cut into ~3-4" slices.  Flip them onto the cut side on a greased pan, with a bit of space between the rolls.  Let that rise another 30 minutes or so, then stick them in a 400F oven for 20-30 minutes; until they're done, really.  One option is to brush melted butter or olive oil on top of the rolls just before baking, and that'll help them turn golden brown on top.

Enjoy!

If these directions are too vague... well, the good news is that even if you don't quite get it perfect, this is a tasty enough bread recipe that it's worth making a couple times to perfect it!