Kale three creative ways, because it can’t always be salad, salad, salad

You want to be that person who swans into the farmers market, buying up lovely French baskets of fresh produce, generous fans of kale leaves and sunflowers peeking from the top. Or maybe you’ve got the stuff growing like crazy in your garden and you’re like, OK… now what?

More:The ultimate pantry list that will get dinner made night after night

The authors of the new cookbook Market Math are hoping to solve that question for you.

This cookbook by Food & Wine magazine features 50 common ingredients, with four recipes for each. Look up an ingredient (they’re in alphabetical order), and bam! You’ll see four different dishes to choose from. One of them is bound to sound like something you feel like eating.

More:3 totally different chicken recipes from Real Simple‘s cookbook

To give you a taste, we included three of the book’s kale recipes here.

Kale-rice bowl recipe

Serves 4

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 1 pound red kale (2 bunches), stemmed, leaves torn into large pieces (16 cups)
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 1 cup mixed chopped basil and cilantro
• Salt and pepper
• Steamed rice and Sriracha sauce, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the canola oil. Add the garlic, ginger and pork, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the pork is just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
2. In batches, add the kale, and stir-fry until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the fish sauce and herbs, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with rice and Sriracha sauce.

Garlicky kale-and-provolone grinders recipe

Serves 4

Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 7 oil-packed anchovy fillets
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound green kale (2 bunches), stemmed, leaves torn into large pieces (about 18 cups)
• 1/2 pound thinly sliced provolone cheese
• 1 (12-inch) ciabatta loaf, halved horizontally
• Thinly sliced radishes, for serving
• Chopped green olives, for serving
• Mayonnaise, for serving

Directions:

1. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the anchovies and garlic, then add the kale in batches, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until the kale is wilted, about 3 minutes.
2. Add 1 cup of water, cover, and cook until tender, 15 minutes.
3. Top the kale with the cheese in an even layer, cover, and cook until the cheese melts, 2 minutes.
4. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the kale and cheese to the bottom half of the ciabatta, then top with radishes and olives. Spread the top half of the ciabatta with mayonnaise, and close the sandwich.
5. Cut into 4 pieces, and serve.

Cacio e pepe-style braised kale recipe

Serves 4

Total time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound Tuscan kale (2 bunches), stemmed, leaves torn into large pieces (16 cups)
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Salt
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper
• Cracked black pepper
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the kale in batches, and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the broth, and bring to a simmer. Cover, and cook until the kale is tender and almost all of the broth is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
3. Transfer the kale to a platter, and top with the crushed red pepper, lots of black pepper and the cheese.

Before you go, check out our slideshow below: