The nasturtium plants have taken over a portion our backyard, climbing their way onto our deck with hundreds of blooms and even more beautifully dark and circular leaves.  We grew the nasturtium for the edible blossoms, but a month or so ago, I found out the leaves could be used like watercress.  Sort of.  They are deliciously peppery and tender -even the larger leaves- as such, but their shape is tricky to dress as a salad.  When left whole or even torn, the flat shape creates too many layers to permeate, and shredding them didn’t make for a very attractive salad.

But the leaves are perfect for stuffing.  No inconvenient protrusions to tuck in like grape leaves, nor tough ribs to cut out like cabbage.  Tender enough to eat raw, but sturdy enough to contain rigid fillings.  Pretty and easy.  Perfect finger food for parties, which always seem to lack enough green options.

If you didn’t grown them, nasturtium leaves might be hard to find, but they are incredible easy to grow from seed for next year.

While there are plenty of options to wrap, you can’t go wrong with fruit, cheese and herbs.  I used Honeycrisp apple slices, Gruyere and tarragon, tying up the parcel with chives and serving a walnut vinaigrette for dipping, but next time I might try pears, blue cheese and  fennel fronds.  Both would go well with several nut oils: hazelnut, pistachio, pecan.  Let me know what you come up with.

nasturtium leaf, apple and Gruyere salad parcels with walnut vinaigrette dip
If you prefer, you can omit the tarragon leaves in the parcels and use a tarragon vinegar in the dip.

20 nasturtium leaves, washed and patted dry
1 Honeycrisp apple, quartered, cored and sliced into at least 20 thin slices, tossed with lemon juice if not serving right away.
20 thin slices of Gruyere cheese, about 1/2 inch wide
1-2 sprigs tarragon (optional)
10-15 chives
walnut vinaigrette dip, recipe follows

Place a nasturtium leaf stem-side up, dark side down on your work surface.  Just above where the leaf was cut from the stem place a slice of cheese and a slice of apple, letting the apple stick up just above the top of the leaf.  Tuck in three of the thin leaves of the tarragon, one at the bottom, and two at the top.  Fold the bottom of the nasturtium leaf up over the apple, then roll from side to side.  One third of the way up tie a piece of chive around the parcel. Continue with the remainder of the leaves and serve on a platter with a small bowl of the dip.

for the walnut vinaigrette dip:
2 tablespoons sherry or tarragon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mayonnaise (to emulsify)
2 tablespoons walnut oil
4 tablespoons olive oil (doesn’t need to be extra-virgen)

In a medium bowl, place the vinegar and salt, and whisk until the salt is dissolved.  Add the mayonnaise and blend.  Slowly add the walnut oil, whisking until completely emulsified after each addition.  Continue with the olive oil, until all is incorporated.

Most of us didn’t grow up with kale.  Also, most of us didn’t grow up with yoga.  Not just a random statement - apparently the two are linked.  In an obituary for Pattabhi Jois, a famous yoga teacher, The Econimist claimed his influence could be found “from Byron Bay, Australia to Big Sur, California, and wherever else one might expect Priuses on the roads and organic kale on the tables.”

Well, last year in my p-patch in Seattle I succumbed to peer-pressure and planted an abundance of kale.  I still don’t know what Prius-driving limber people do with all that kale, but I figured out a few options for my family.  This was a favorite, maybe because we all did grow up with pizza.

The trio of ingredients play perfectly off of each other.  Sweet peppers, salty olives, bitter greens are rounded off with the acidity of the tomato sauce.  If you use my recipe for tomato sauce, with plenty of garlic, it will be your favorite pizza, even if aren’t the type that drives (or wishes for) a Prius, or practices yoga.  And if you are the type and buy kale at the farmer’s maket every so often just to fit in, I think you’ll really appreciate this recipe too.

One more thing- don’t forget how important it is to have a great crust.  I use Peter Reinhart’s “pizza dough I” from Crust and Crumb: master formulas for serious bread bakers.  But Heidi Swanson has reprinted Reinhart’s recipe for Napoletana Pizza Dough on 101 cookbooks, and I trust both Heidi’s judgement and Peter Reinhart’s recipes.    Because it takes time for dough to develop flavor, I wouldn’t trust any recipe that takes less than 6 hours to make.  For convenience, you might as well start the day before.

kale, roasted red pepper and olive pizza
2 1/2 lbs. pizza dough, approximately (”pizza dough I” reportedly makes 2 lbs. 6.5 oz.)
1 recipe perfect tomato sauce (you’ll have some left over)
2-3 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup good olives, pitted and chopped
1 bunch of kale, thick stems removed, leaves chopped
olive oil, for frying
1 lb. mozzarella, shredded

Preheat your oven to as high as it will go, and place a pizza stone on a middle rack.  Heat 1/2 inch or so of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Fry the kale in batches until it is crispy on the edges and tender in the middle.  Set aside on a plate.  Roll out the pizza dough thinly into several pies.  In a thin layer, spread some of the tomato sauce, then add a little kale, the chopped peppers and olives.  Top with the cheese.  It shouldn’t cover the entire pizza, and don’t go overboard with the toppings or else your crust will end up soggy.  Bake one at a time until the crust is golden brown underneath and the cheese is melted and starting to brown as well.  The time will depend on the size of the pizzas.