Slow-cooker creamed kale is easy to make and saves on valuable stove-top space. [Photograph: Jennifer Olvera]
Creamed kale is an easy side dish that deserves its place on your table all through the fall and winter. The only problem is, making it entirely on the stovetop takes up valuable space and time, especially around the holidays when both are at a premium. Letting your slow cooker do the work solves that problem.
I start with a simple cream sauce flavored with onions and garlic and flavored with chicken stock, nutmeg, and Romano cheese. That's the bit you've got to make on the stovetop—there's no getting around that. But once the sauce is done, all that's left is to pour it over some ribbons of kale in your slow cooker, a press of the button, and a couple hours on low heat with the occasional lazy stir. Some lemon zest stirred in right at the end brightens up the flavor. Thanksgiving sides have never been this easy!