Apricot Sesame Kale

Kale, more kale!  This was an easy variation on lots of other kale recipes.  I was actually inspired by a recipe for chard with oranges and shallots in How To Cook Everything Vegetarian... but this recipe contains none of those things.  I approximated the work of the oranges with apricots (sadly, too mushy to be worth eating on their own) and lemon juice.  Other than that, this recipe is pretty close to my standby green recipe: saute with garlic (and maybe ginger or onion), add tamari (and maybe lemon or sesame oil), toss with sesame seeds (though this time I used cashews).  The sweetness of the apricot worked really amazingly with the tamari (kind of caramelly) and the greens (balancing out their bitter and cabbagey aspects).  I used a lot of lemon juice, so the overall effect was somewhat sweet-and-sour.  A splash of sesame oil might also be nice, but I wasn't feeling it today.

Edit 8/31: added pomegranate molasses and pistachios, and left out the sesame, for a slightly more middle-eastern version.  Also great!

I almost didn't upload a photo of this.  It looks kind of iffy, but it's really good.  I actually ate all of it for lunch.

Apricot [Cashew] Kale

Ingredients

olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and trimmed

2-3 apricots, diced

tamari (and water as needed)

juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon

toasted sesame seeds or cashews

Instructions

In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add garlic; saute until browned and fragrant.  Add kale; cook until bright green.  Add apricot and tamari; cook for a little while longer.  Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice and sesame seeds.