What is in Season: Black Cabbage (Cavolo Nero)
The cold weather is here in Italy and all those hearty winter veggies are starting to show up at my local market. One of my favorites—for its flavor, health benefits*, and versatility in the kitchen—is the great cavolo nero, also known as black cabbage.
Before coming to Italy I had never even heard of this leafy green vegetable, though I may have unconsciously seen it wedged in with the other dark winter greens. I probably thought it was some unknown kind of cabbage or even kale. In fact, the great black cabbage goes by a slew of other names that echo this easy-to-make mistake, including Tuscan Kale, Tuscan cabbage, Italian kale, and, my favorite, dinosaur kale. The “dinosaur-ness” of the dino kale is not in reference to the plant’s size, which, by the way (overlooking my rather modest sized bunches), can be up to 2 feet long! The dinosaur refers to the leaves’ very particular texture, which is distinctly bubbly and rippled and in fact, rather t.rex-like. Once I learned this, I had a hard time seeing anything other than the skin of a triceratops sitting in my fridge, but I am working on moving past that and the below recipe has really helped.
Continue reading…
