Coconut & Lime Grilled Kale

The inspiration? A line of text on a blog somewhere that said something like: “marinate kale in coconut milk for four hours, then grill”.

You know that went to the TOP of my “To Make” List.

And then I went researching, and found that there are all sorts of “grill kale marinated in coconut milk” recipes on the Internet.

In fact, Vij’s Indian restaurant in Vancouver is famous for their kale. And their recipe is online in a number of permutations, including in this New York Times article.

But of course, for all of these recipes, you need a grill. There are some recipes that you just need an actual BBQ for. And this is one of them. (I suppose you could try it on a grill pan… Let me know if you do!)

I don’t have a BBQ, so I’ve been saving up this recipe for a while, until we were invited to visit friends with BBQs.

And our friends Mike and Tanya (who you may remember from Tanya’s Veggie Caesar Salad Dressing or their BBQ Pizza) met the criteria:

1) They invited us over.
2) They have a barbecue.
3) They asked us to bring a veggie side dish.
4) They love coconut milk.

And most importantly:
5) They are almost as obsessed with kale as I am.

So over we went, with some marinating kale in tow. And a couple of beers. Perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon.

Which was only made better when I was promised veggie burgers. Which is only better when it’s a grilled portobello mushroom on a bun. Which is only better when you add Brie. Yes, summer perfection — along with corn grilled in the husk and the best red cabbage slaw ever (apparently the secret is celery seed, go figure).

Until you can get yourself to a BBQ, I recommend my Kale Chips. But as soon as you can grill outdoors, you need these.

Coconut & Lime Grilled Kale
Inspired by Vij’s Grilled Coconut Kale

• 2 bunches kale
• 2 13.5-ounce cans coconut milk
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. cayenne
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 big pinch of crushed red chili flakes (to taste)
• 2 limes, juiced

Wash the kale thoroughly and tear the leaves off of the stalks. Pat the leaves dry with a clean tea towel, or use a salad spinner. Discard the stalks (or save for soup!).

In a pot over low heat, warm the coconut milk until it is just lukewarm. Transfer to a pyrex dish and add the salt, cayenne, paprika, chili flakes, and lime juice. Stir to combine.

Add the kale and cover the leaves completely with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

On your preheated BBQ, use tongs to arrange the kale leaves in a single layer. Grill for 45-60 seconds, flip over, and grill for another 45-60 seconds. You are aiming for the consistency of soft centres and crispy edges, not 100% charcoal leaves.

Serve immediately and crunch away!