CAVOLO NERO

Cavolo nero is one handy brassica. Because it doesn’t form a head, its sturdy, dark bluish-green leaves can be picked at will over many months and are said to taste better after a frost. It’s a good looker, is easy to grow and is super healthy

— high in vitamins C and A with omega-3 for brain health and more calcium than milk. Pick regularly, choosing medium-sized leaves from the bottom up — new growth is produced at the top. And be sure to harvest evenly from all your cavolo plants. It likes nitrogenrich, firm soil to support its weight. Watch out for white fly and wash them off the underside of the leaves. In warmer weather, you may need to cover the plants with a fine mesh if cabbage white butterfly is a problem where you live. Once picked, the leaves will keep for a couple of days in the fridge vegetable crisper, stems wrapped in a moist paper towel. It freezes well. Remove the ribs (pull them away like you are undoing a zip) and cut the leaves into strips. Blanch them in salted boiling water, drain and refresh in cold water and then drain again, squeezing out the remaining water.

Freeze flat and use in cooked dishes. Cavolo nero is often cooked long and slow so that it becomes softer and is less “springy” in the mouth.

1 Batter up

It’s hard to turn down anything tempura and cavolo nero leaves work well dipped in Warren Elwin’s thin batter as part of a vege platter. Try eggplant, courgettes and fennel bulb.

2 Carb loaded

The flavour of Tuscan ribollita improves after a day or two, so make this thick soup on a Sunday afternoon and serve it on a cold weeknight. The word ribollita actually means twice-cooked. It’s a mix of beans, roughly chopped chunks of bread and vegetables, including a good amount of cavolo nero.

3 Bake day

Cavolo nero features in many meat-free pasta sauces. Warren Elwin sautes it and adds it with other veges to create a familyfriendly smoked fish pasta bake. Topped with a zesty fresh breadcrumb and seed mix, it cooks to bubbling yumminess in the oven.