Tuscan Kale with Black Olives and White Beans -- a bright #recipe for dull January

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  Not ready to let go of the beauty and bounty of holiday meals? But you want something simple to make that’s good for you, and it should still be pretty and colorful and feel special, right?

That pretty much sums up the mood about January cooking in my house. And I’ve got the perfect answer. This dish is fully of the dark leafy greens we know we should eat, and white beans for protein. Tomatoes for color and sweetness, and Kalamata olives for zip. Plus Parmesan, and everything’s better with a bit of Parm, right? It’s great as a side dish to fish, chicken, or just about anything. And if you’re one of those people who likes to slip a soft-boiled egg into a bowl of good stuff and call it dinner – well, I’m not, but if you are, have at it. 

Kale can be a little tough, but massaging it with the lemon juice softens it a bit and makes it more tender when steamed. Even with that step, the dish takes less than 15 minutes, so it’s a good choice for a weeknight dinner. And yes, canned beans are fine – we used cannellini, but any variety you like will be just fine. 

How do you brighten up these dull winter days? 

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Tuscan Kale with Black Olives and White Beans 

1 bunch Tuscan kale (also called lacinato), about 12 leaves

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 teaspoons lemon zest

dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped or sliced Kalamata olives

1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half

½ cup cooked white beans (rinse and drain canned beans)

2 tablespoons shaved or shredded Parmesan, for serving 

Thoroughly wash the kale leaves and remove the tough stems. (The easiest way to do this is to lay each leaf flat on a cutting board. Slice alongside the stem 3-4" from the end, on each side, and remove the stem.) Stack the leaves and cut into strips. Place in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice and massage with your hands, coating well. Allow to sit while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

In a small bowl, mix the olive oil, garlic, zest, and optional red pepper flakes.

Heat a large skillet over medium. Scrape into the pan and saute, stirring, until fragrant – about 1 minute.

Add the olives and kale; stir, then cover and steam 2 - 4 minutes, or until the kale is tender-crisp. Uncover. 

Add the tomatoes and beans and stir well. Turn off the heat.

Transfer to a serving bowl if you’d like, or serve from the pan. Top with Parmesan before serving. 

Serves 4. 

Buon appetivo, as they say in Tuscany!

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

TO ERR IS CUMIN:A Spice Shop Mystery (Seventh St. Books, out now in paper, ebook, and audio)

From the cover: One person’s treasure is another’s trash. . .

Pepper Reece, owner of the Spice Shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, wants nothing more than to live a quiet life for a change, running her shop and working with customers eager to spice up their cooking. But when she finds an envelope stuffed with cash in a ratty old wingback left on the curb, she sets out to track down the owner.

Pepper soon concludes that the chair and its stash may belong to young Talia Cook, new in town and nowhere to be seen. Boz Bosworth, an unemployed chef Pepper’s tangled with in the past, shows up looking for the young woman, but Pepper refuses to help him search. When Boz is found floating in the Ship Canal, only a few blocks from Talia’s apartment, free furniture no longer seems like such a bargain.

On the hunt for Talia, Pepper discovers a web of connections threatening to ensnare her best customer. The more she probes, the harder it gets to tell who’s part of an unsavory scheme of corruption—and who might be the next victim.

Between her quest for an elusive herb, helping her parents remodel their new house, and setting up the Spice Shop’s first cooking class, Pepper’s got a full plate. Dogged by a sense of obligation to find the rightful owner of the hidden treasure, she keeps on showing up and asking questions.

One mistake, and she could find herself cashing out. . .

Available at Amazon  * Barnes & Noble  * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * And your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. 

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by Leslie's website and join the mailing list for her seasonal newsletter. And join her on Facebook where she shares book news and giveaways from her writer friends, and talks about food, mysteries, and the things that inspire her.