Winter Vegetable and Barley Saute

My love of vegetables is well known, particularly raw veggies in salads of all types and stripes. But this quick, throw-together saute had me singing in the kitchen, literally. And I do not sing. It really was that good.

And yet so simple. The combined flavors of sauteed red cabbage, fennel, kale, and shallots need to have an aria written for them because the taste is food of the gods. In this version I also added some chopped bacon ends (more fatty than meaty) to serve as the frying oil and then added some cooked barley to up the heft of the dish. I can't say enough great things about this combination so I'll simply leave you with the recipe and hope you enjoy it!

Winter Vegetable and Barley Sautee

1 shallot, sliced thin
1 cup red cabbage, sliced thin
2 cups lacinto (aka tuscan, black, dino) kale, chopped fine
1/2 fennel bulb, sliced thin
2 strips fatty bacon, minced
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup cooked barley
salt
pepper

Cook bacon over high heat until it gives up most of its fat. Add shallots, carrots and fennel and saute another 3-5 minutes. Add red cabbage and cook another 3 minutes. (add few teaspoons of water if the veggies start to stick). Add kale and saute until it wilts. Add barley and cook another 3 minutes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Hugs!