Sweet Potato says... your kids will eat kale!

What’s on your kid’s no-fly list? Spinach? Tomatoes? Sauce? After about a solid year of daily goat cheese-loaded lunchtime wraps, my five-year old turned on goat cheese. Hard. Like, do not talk about that cheese in her presence. As bizarre as it is, I’m not too bothered. I trust that if I’m easy going enough about it, she affections will be restored. But there are some ingredients worth fighting for.

Think your kids not even consider a meal including kale? Kale is a nutritional show off — it’s off the charts for vitamins K, A and C, making it a powerful antioxidant. Plus, it’s also an incredibly versatile ingredient. Really, you don’t want to give up on this one. Luckily, we’ve got several ways to get your kids to give this mighty green vegetable a try. Honestly, I’ve lost count of how many kale recipes we’ve got on our site, but this one uses a kale pesto which is our pride and joy. It’s so delicious that the fact that it’s full of super healthy kale is kind of beside the point. You can use it in a quiche, on pasta or as we have here in a pizza. Big, big tip: whenever you’re introducing something challenging, use a favourite food as the delivery device. Let us know how it goes!
 
Kale Pesto Pizza
3/4 bunch kale, cleaned and tough stems removed?
1/4 cup of chopped onion?
2 cloves garlic, chopped?
1 1/4 tbsps extra virgin olive oil
1 frozen spelt or whole wheat pizza dough?
1/4 cup corn meal?
1/2 cup ricotta cheese?
1/2 cup fresh, shaved parmesan cheese?
2 tbsps all purpose flour?drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add kale and coat with oil mixture. Cover and allow kale to wilt, until tough stems are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Remove kale from pan and place in food processor. Process until it becomes the texture of a fine pesto. Set aside.

4. Place the cornmeal on work flat surface and flour your rolling pin. Roll out the dough until it’s about an inch thick. Drizzle the dough with olive oil and spread it around with a brush or your fingers. Spread the kale pesto evenly across the surface of the dough. Using a tablespoon, place dollops of ricotta randomly on the pie. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Place on a pizza stone or baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbling.

Can't get enough kale? More recipes from sweetpotatochronicles.com:

Kale Spinach and Rice Cakes
Try these cute little Kale Rice Cakes for lunch or beside your favourite eggs at brunch.

Kale and Pepper Calzone
These are a great weekend cooking project to get the kids involved with. Plus, next week’s lunch will be waiting for you!