Grilled chicken with kale
In the kálgardr (cabbage garden = kitchen garden) the farmer grows leaf cabbage or kale that derives from wild cabbage. The types of cabbage which were typical 1000-1300 years ago in Denmark were very different from the headed cabbage types we know today. Curly kale has recently grown in popularity and is probably the closest equivalent to Viking Age cabbage/kale.
Curly kale is very useful and for hundreds of years it was a very important winter vegetable. It was easy to grow, gave a good yield and did well in cool weather. During winter when most of the diet consisted of preserved foods, kale was one of the only fresh vegetables available.
Grilled chicken with kale (2-4 people)
1 organic chicken, cleaned
100 g herb butter - see the recipe here
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
4 leaves of curly kale, stems removed, torn into smaller pieces
1 apple, diced
1 tsp salt
Butter for frying
Video: How to make grilled chicken with kale
Butterfly the chicken: Cut out the chicken's backbone and press the bird flat. Place it with skin side up.
Loosen the chicken skin with your fingers and distribute the herb butter under the skin. Grill the chicken and flip it a few time during cooking. It needs about 1 hour to cook all the way through.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic. Add the kale and continue frying for about 5 minutes. Remember to stir every now and then. Season with salt, add the diced apple and stir one last time before removing the frying pan from the heat.
Serve the grilled chicken with the warm kale.
Enjoy!