I  confess I had not heard of this ingredient until I saw it in Waitrose. I am delighted to share these tasty Cavolo Nero recipes with you and highly recommend the fish pie in particular as perfect comfort food.

CREAMY CAVOLO NERO AND CHESTNUT STIR FRY

Serve with sherry

Try this recipe with an Oloroso or Palo Cortado sherry. Both kinds are dry but rich and well matched to creamy foods as well as more traditional tapas. They will also pick up the rounded nuttiness of the chestnuts.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion, sliced (180g)

2 x 200g packs cavolo nero, shredded

200g pack chestnuts, roughly chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

180g pack low fat cheese

4 tbsp crème fraiche (100g)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for 2 minutes, add the cavolo nero, cover and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the chestnuts and cinnamon and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the soft cheese and crème fraiche and cook for 1 minute, season.

Cooks Tip

Great served with Christmas turkey as part of the trimmings or as a vegetarian option on its own.

Allergen information: contains milk (crème fraiche), cheese

SMOKED HADDOCK & CAVOLO NERO PIE

Serve with Prosecco or red wine

I am heading for Prosecco with this delicious fish pie. It’s the cavolo nero that points me in that direction with the tomato rich sauce. Sparkling wines by the very nature of their matching with canapés and nibbles can blend with all sorts of flavours, and there are lots in this pie with smoked fish, the sauce, the cavolo nero and the cheese. However, if you are a red wine drinker, a New World Pinot Noir at about 13.5-14%abv will take the richness of the cheese, the smokiness of the fish and the tomato.

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 20 minutes

Serves 2

Ingredients

600g potatoes, diced

50ml milk

15g butter

150g cavolo nero, shredded

350g smoked haddock, skinned and diced

350g jar tomato & basil pasta sauce

25g Cheddar cheese, grated

Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 10-15 minutes until tender, drain and mash with milk, butter and seasoning.

Meanwhile, cook the cavolo nero in boiling water for 3 minutes, add the haddock and cook for a further 2 minutes, drain, return to the pan and stir in the tomato sauce.  Transfer to a heatproof serving dish and top with the mashed potato.

Sprinkle over the cheese and place under a preheated frill for 2-3 minutes until golden.

Cooks Tip

Try using any white fish or mix in some seafood.

With thanks to www.discovercavolonero.co.uk

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