“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” — Albert Einstein

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas Edison

In most aspects of my life, I’m an inveterate rule-follower. That’s mostly good, I’d always thought, as long as it’s not carried to extremes (yes, I’ve been guilty of that.) But…every once in a while, I like to do something that defies expectations — just because I can. I learned rather late in life that you really do achieve more success if you’re willing, even eager, to fail first. I wish I’d understood that growing up, and especially when my kids were growing up. I’m incredibly fortunate to have a Chief Taste Tester (husband) who will literally eat anything, and enjoy almost all of it. That means that if I make something that doesn’t turn out well, it’s no big deal. It gets eaten anyway, and I chalk it up to experience. We can always toss it and make PB&J instead if it’s truly awful. But when you break the rules in cooking, once in a while, if you’re very lucky, you have a smashing success.

You’re thinking, “where the heck is she going with this?” Yeah, me, too. Here’s what happened.

I was in the grocery store, having completely run out of dinner food. No freezer meals remaining, no leftovers, not even any bread. And Rory (my sourdough starter) was still in the fridge, so it was nowhere near ready to bake with. So there I was in the produce section, realizing they’d reorganized while I wasn’t looking. Why do they always do that as soon as I have the layout memorized? I was looking for ginger root when my eyes landed on the berries. It’s not berry season here yet, but sometimes there will be spring blueberries that are good enough for pie or muffins. Not today, but when I walked over to look, there’s this tiny group of little yellow thingies in containers next to the blackberries. The display said, “Golden Gooseberries: Tangy. Tropical. Sweet.” I’d heard of gooseberries but never had one. So I bought them. Why not? They looked intriguing. I had no idea what they were, no idea what people traditionally used them for, no idea what I was going to do with them. I ate one when I got home, and it was delicious! Poking around online, I saw recipe after recipe for dessert. Nah. I can’t say I’ve been eating as healthy as I’d like to believe, but I knew I didn’t need a dessert. Nope, those cuties were going to make my leftover kale into a showpiece. Or, the whole mess was going in the garbage. I had no idea! Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? It seemed only fair to include some of the ginger I’d been seeking when I spotted the gooseberries, and from there I just made the rest of it up. I have to say, it came out great! This is one of the best vegetable dishes I’ve ever invented. You’re going to love it, even if you think you don’t like kale!

Ingredients:

1 large garlic clove

1/4 fresh jalapeño

small knob (1/4 oz, or 6 g) of fresh ginger

1 large (1.8 oz, or 52 g) shallot

small bunch fresh cilantro (coriander), about 10 stems or a small handful of leaves

4 medium to large leaves of lacinato kale (about 100 g)

6 ounces (170 g) Golden (Cape) Gooseberries

1 tablespoon olive oil

(The photo shows salt and pepper, too. I ended up not using any, but do season to your own taste. The nutrition information below reflects my choice to skip both.)

Preparation:

1.) Mince the garlic, jalapeño, and ginger, for about 1 teaspoon each. Thinly slice the shallot, separating the rings, and chop the cilantro.

2.) Chop the kale into roughly 1” – 2” (2.5 – 5 cm) pieces. Set aside. I like to remove the heavy stems before chopping, but you can keep them if you want.

3.) Wash the gooseberries, cut them in half, and set aside. I cut some in quarters, some in half, and left some whole. I think the ones I cut in half did the best.

4.) Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or skillet. Add the sliced shallots and sauté briefly, just until they start to turn translucent and a little brown, about three minutes.

5.) With your fan on high, stir in the garlic, ginger, and jalapeño. Keep your face out of the steam to protect your eyes from the jalapeño. Cook for about 30 seconds.

6.) Add the kale, gooseberries, and cilantro. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or until kale and gooseberries have softened. If the pan seems to be drying out too quickly, putting everything at risk of scorching, add a little more oil or a tablespoon of water.