Couve Refogada no Azeite de Oliva

Ingredientes:

1 maço de couve
Alho e sal
Azeite de oliva

Modo de fazer:

Tirar os talos e cortar as folhas de couve enroladas feito charuto em tiras finas.

Esquentar o azeite numa frigideira e refogar a couve com o alho e sal até a couve ficar macia. Alguns preferem a couve crocante.

Segundo a Wikipedia, a Couve é uma forma de repolho (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), no qual as folhas centrais não formam a típica cabeça do repolho. Está mais próxima, em termos genéticos, do repolho selvagem do que das formas domesticadas. A espécie Brassica oleracea contem uma variedade de vegetais que inclui o brócolis, a couve-flor e a couve de bruxelas.

A couve é considerada um vegetal altamente nutritivo com poderosas propriedades antioxidantes e anti-inflamatórias. Apresenta teores elevados de beta caroteno, vitamina K, vitamina C, lutein, zeaxanthin e é razoavelmente rica em cálcio.

A couve, bem como o brócolis e outras brassicas, contem sulforaphane (particularmente quando picadas), um químico que se acredita ter potente propriedade anti-cancer.

Origem
Até ao final da Idade Média, a couve constituia a verdura mais utilizada na Europa. Variedades crespas ou mais lisas já eram consumidas na Grécia, no século IV a.C. Estas, já referidas pelos antigos Romanos como couve sabeliana, são consideradas as formas ancestrais das couves atuais. Hoje podemos diferenciá-las de acordo com o comprimento do caule e pelas características das folhas. A cor das folhas varia do verde claro, verde-escuro, verde-violáceo ou castanho-violeta.

Durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial, o cultivo de couve na Grâ Bretanha foi encorajado pela campanha do Dig for Victory. Isto porque o vegetal tem crescimento fácil e fornece importantes nutrientes capazes de suplementar a dieta em tempos de racionamento de alimentos.

A couve-chinesa-kairan, que é um tipo de cultivar diferenciado de Brassica oleracea, muito usada na cozinha chinesa, é contudo muito semelhante em aparência.

Uso culinário
Nos Países Baixos a couve é frequentemente usada no prato de inverno stamppot e em um dos pratos tradicionais, chamado Boerenkool.

Na Irlanda a couve é misturada ao purê de batata para fazer o prato tradicional colcannon. Apesar do colcannon ser raramente comido na Irlanda moderna, é muito popular no Halloween, sendo servido com linguiça.

Uma sopa tradicional portuguesa, caldo verde, combina batata, couve picada, azeite de oliva, caldo e geralmente lingüiça ou paio. A couve é muito popular no Brasil, sendo usada no caldo verde, como prato vegetal ou cozida com carne seca. Quando picada e refogada, a couve acompanha o prato nacional do Brasil, a feijoada.

A couve é comida através do sudeste da África, fervida com leite de coco e amendoim ralado e servida com arroz ou pirão de farinha de milho.

Toda uma cultura relacionada com a couve foi desenvolvida no noroeste da Alemanha, nas cidades de Bremen e Oldenburg, bem como no Estado de Schleswig-Holstein. Os restaurantes locais fazem as "Grünkohlfahrt", principalmente em janeiro, onde se consome grandes quantidades de couve, salsichas e schnapps. Em muitas comunidades da região existem festivais anuais em que se elege, inclusive, o "rei das couves".


English version: Kale Stir-Fry in Olive Oil

Ingredients:
1 bunche of kale
Garlic and salt
Olive oil

How to make:
Kale leaves, tough stems and center ribs cut off and discarded. Stack a few kale leaves and roll lengthwise into a cigar shape. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips with a sharp knife. Heat olive oil in a fry pan and stir-fry kale with garlic and salt, until kale is tender (if prefer, until kale is crunch)

According Wikipedia Kale or borecole is a form of cabbage (Brassica oleracea Acephala Group), in which the central leaves do not form a head. It is considered to be closer to wild cabbage than most domesticated forms. The species Brassica oleracea contains a wide array of vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, and brussels sprouts. The Acephala Group also includes spring greens and collard greens, which are extremely similar genetically.

Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable with powerful antioxidant properties and is anti-inflammatory.

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium. Because of its high vitamin K content, patients taking anti-coagulants such as warfarin are encouraged to avoid this food since it increases the vitamin K concentration in the blood, which is what the drugs are often attempting to lower.

Kale, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties.

Origins
Until the end of the Middle Ages, kale was one of the most common green vegetables in all of Europe. Curly leafed varieties of cabbage already existed along with flat leafed varieties in Greece in the fourth century BC. These forms, which were referred to by the Romans as Sabellian kale, are considered to be the ancestors of modern kales. Today one may differentiate between varieties according to the low, intermediate, or high length of the stem, with varying leaf types. The leaf colours range from light green through green, dark green and violet-green to violet-brown.

During World War II, the cultivation of kale in the U.K. was encouraged by the Dig for Victory campaign. The vegetable was easy to grow and provided important nutrients to supplement those missing from a normal diet because of rationing.

Kai-lan, a separate cultivar of Brassica oleracea much used in Chinese cuisine, is somewhat similar to kale in appearance and is occasionally called "kale" in English.

Culinary uses:
In the Netherlands it is very frequently used in the winter dish stamppot and seen as one of the country's traditional dishes, called Boerenkool.

In Ireland kale is mixed with mashed potatoes to make the traditional dish colcannon. Although colcannon is rarely eaten in modern Ireland, it is still popular on Halloween when it is served with sausages. Small coins are often hidden inside as prizes.

A traditional Portuguese soup, caldo verde, combines pureed potatoes, diced kale, olive oil, broth, and, generally, sliced cooked spicy sausage. Under the name of couve, kale is also popular in Brazil, in caldo verde, or as a vegetable dish, often cooked with carne seca (shredded dried beef). When chopped and stir-fried, couve accompanies Brazil's national dish, feijoada.

Kale is eaten throughout southeastern Africa, typically boiled with coconut milk and ground peanut and served with rice or boiled cornmeal.

A whole culture around kale has developed in north-western Germany around the towns of Bremen and Oldenburg as well as in the State of Schleswig-Holstein. There, most social clubs of any kind will have a Grünkohlfahrt ("kale tour") sometime in January, visiting a country inn to consume large quantities of kale, sausage and schnapps. Most communities in the area have a yearly kale festival which includes naming a "kale king". Curly kale is used in Denmark and Halland, Sweden, to make (grøn-)langkål, an obligatory dish on the julbord in the region, and is commonly served together with the Christmas ham (Sweden, Halland). The kale is used to make a stew of minced boiled kale, stock, cream, pepper and salt that is simmered together slowly for a few hours. In Scotland, kale provided such a base for a traditional diet that the word in dialect Scots is synonymous with food. To be "off one's kail" is to feel too ill to eat.