Kale & Potatoes w/ Manchego & Saffron Aioli

A hearty side dish that pops with spice, served with a saffron aioli like condiment. A great way to serve kale, which compliments the rustic preparation on the skillet. A good side dish for lighter meat dishes, like chicken or pork, and can also be turned into a breakfast item by adding eggs or sausage. A cast iron pan and an oven with convection roasting works best, but feel free to try with sauteing, grilling or air frying.

~450 calories without the aioli

Ingredients

Kale - 2 handfuls - Curly or Tuscan is ok. (best practice is to rub kale between your hands to tenderize.

Baby Red, Gold Potatoes or Fingerling - (6-10) - cut into uniform sizes, roughly 1/2 inch cubes (cut smaller for skillet)

Optional: Garlic - 1 clove - diced.

Aged Manchego Cheese - 2 oz - shaved, crumbled or grated.

Chives - handful - diced

Paprika - 3 Tbsp

Smoked Paprika - 2 Tbsp

Salt - 1 Tbsp

Olive Oil

Aioli

Add a pinch of saffron threads to 1 Tbsp warm water- let sit for 10 minutes.

Periodically move around the saffron to make sure all the threads comes in contact with the water.

Rather than making an aioli from scratch, add 4 Tbsp of mayo,

Add 1 Tsp of olive oil, salt, black pepper and garlic powder or 1 minced clove of garlic.

Whisk together.

Optional: add a squeeze of lemon or a few drops of sherry vinegar.

Steps Oven Method (Cast Iron Pan)

1. Start your oven to convection roast (cooks from the top, bottom and convection) to 550 degrees.

2. add the potatoes in a cast iron pan, season with paprika, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, ground sage and olive oil.

3. Set the pan in the bottom 1/3 of the oven for 45 minutes. If you are not using convection roast, you my need to stir the potatoes to cook on all sides.

4. Add the kale pieces to the pan, season with olive oil, sweet paprika, and cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and top with grated manchego cheese, chopped chives
   

Skillet method

1. In a non stick pan/skillet (that has a lid), add the potatoes and salt, and 1 Tbsp of olive oil at medium heat. Stir until browned on all sides.

2. Add 1/4 cup water and cover the pan to allow the potatoes to steam and cook through on medium high heat. Keep checking the water level, add more if needed, and test the potatoes with a fork to see if they're tender.

3. After about 5 minutes, add the kale and stir, and cover again. Add water if needed.

4. Once the potatoes are cooked through, remove the lid and set the flame to medium heat. Once the liquid is mostly evaporated, add a tsp of olive oil, paprika and smoked paprika to the potatoes and kale and stir. If using garlic, add at this step.

5. After 3-5 minutes, the potatoes should be browned.

6. Add the cheese to the hot potatoes and kale, and garnish with chives.

Serve with the aioli sauce, and/or lemon.