Creamed Kale Recipe with Béchamel Sauce

Creamed kale is a creamy, earthy side dish consisting of a cream sauce, aromatics, and cooked kale. Kale is a dark, fibrous leafy green, more similar to chard than spinach. Creamed spinach is a common accompaniment at steakhouses, and creamed kale is similar in taste and texture. Serve creamed kale alongside grilled or seared steak, pork or chicken, or use it as a baked pasta sauce.

Most varieties of kale are tough and fibrous, with a rib running down the center of the leaf. Learn how to blanch kale before turning it into creamed kale:

1. 1. Fill a large pot with salted water. Use a stockpot, Dutch oven, or any other large pot big enough to fill with water and submerge kale. Add salt to the water. It doesn’t need to be as salty as pasta water.
2. 2. Chop the kale. Stack the kale leaves, then cut them in half along the center rib. Stack the kale again, then chop it into smaller pieces.
3. 3. Fill a large bowl with ice water. The second part of blanching is submerging the cooked kale in ice water to stop the cooking. The cold water helps retain the green color and prevents the kale from getting mushy.
4. 4. Boil the kale, then plunge it into the cold water. Once the water is at a boil, carefully place the chopped kale in the water. Boil the kale for about one minute, remove it with a slotted spoon, and immediately plunge it into the ice water.
5. 5. Squeeze the kale dry. Leave the kale in the ice water for about one minute, then take it out by the handful, squeezing the excess water out of the kale before spreading it out on a clean, dry kitchen towel.

Use the tips below to make earthy and creamy creamed kale.

1. 1. Add cream cheese for a tangy flavor. A classic cream sauce consists of fat, flour, and milk, but adding cream cheese adds additional thickness to the sauce and a tangy flavor. The earthiness of the kale pairs well with the cream cheese, and both ingredients mellow each other.
2. 2. Blanch the kale first. Kale is less tender than spinach, and blanching (the process of quickly cooking and cooling food) helps the kale tenderize in the creamed kale and make it more palatable. This step is extra and not always necessary, but it is helpful.
3. 3. Make a classic béchamel sauce. It is possible to make creamed kale with just kale, half-and-half or heavy cream, and cheese, but for the creamiest creamed kale, make a béchamel sauce. Sauté the aromatics in butter (or olive oil), sprinkle an equal amount of flour over the aromatics, then add the milk and blanched kale.