Cavalo Nero, or black kale, is a member of the brassica family along with cabbage, brussel sprouts and broccoli. It is a hardy plant that can withstand frosts, growing throughout the winter before going to seed in spring. I always notice it is one of the first plants to start to seed when the year turns and the days get longer. It is often ready to pick before the cabbages because it doesn’t heart.  Instead it grows on a thick stalk up to a meter high like a little tree and you can start picking the lower leaves off while the cabbages next door are only just starting to heart up.

It originates from the eastern Mediterranean and there are mentions of it as far back as 2000BC.

All kales are highly nutritious but especially so for vitamin K at nearly 4 times the daily value. Significant amounts of vitamins A, C and the B group are in these nutritious leaves.