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"  Every year, a new superfood gets everyone hot under the collar. This year, it\u2019s kale. Remember that tough old cabbage your grandmother used to serve? Well, these trendy new takes on kale are nothing like that. There are a few different varieties of wild cabbage, and I\u2019d say the most pleasing on the palette is curly kale.  More\u00A0delicate than its straighter-leaved cousin, curly kale has green and purple varieties, which makes it even more of a\u00A0sexy superfood. There\u2019s also\u00A0a\u00A0slightly posher cousin\u00A0of curly kale, if you\u2019re\u00A0feeling fancy. Sea kale is an \u201Cescape\u201D variety that has found its way\u00A0from gardens to beaches.  I\u00A0like picking this wild stuff from between rocks on the Dorset\u00A0beaches, particularly the flowers, which taste like the best sprouting broccoli you\u2019ve ever eaten.  ***  Pasta and Beans with Kale (above)  This is a take on the classic pasta e fagioli, a cross between a soup and a stew, depending on how you want to eat it. This dish is perfect for a winter supper and great\u00A0to give to kids. Haricot and flageolet beans are quite close to the original beans used which are fagioli di lamon, or you could use any of a number of small, similar-shaped ones, such as cannellini or\u00A0borlotti. Again, there are many variations on pasta e fagioli where the bacon can be replaced with pork rind, cooked pig\u2019s trotter or\u00A0cotechino sausage. You\u00A0can even use black cabbage, very similar to kale.  Ingredients:  1 onion, peeled and finely diced 2 sticks of celery, peeled and cut into 1cm dice 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves 4 rashers of unsmoked streaky bacon or slices\u00A0\u00A0 of ham, finely chopped 2 tbsps olive oil 100g haricot beans or similar, soaked overnight\u00A0\u00A0 and cooked until tender but not too soft (or 400g tin\u00A0\u00A0 of haricot beans, drained) 300g tomatoes,skinned, de-seeded and chopped (or a 200g tin of chopped tomatoes) 500\u2013600ml chicken or vegetable stock (a good cube will do) 80g small pasta such as tubetti, ditalini, rigati 200\u2013250g curly kale, cut into rough 2cm squares 1 tbsp of chopped flat-leaf parsley Salt and freshly ground black pepper Freshly grated Parmesan to serve  1 | Gently cook the onion, celery, garlic, rosemary and chopped bacon (or ham) in the olive oil for a few minutes until the vegetables are soft. 2 | In a food processor or blender, pur\u00E9e half the beans, then add to the pan with the tomatoes and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 40mins. 3 | Meanwhile, cook the pasta in salted, boiling water until al dente, then drain. Blanch the kale in boiling salted water and drain. 4 | Add the cooked pasta, the whole beans, kale and the parsley to the stew and simmer for a further 10\u201315mins. The\u00A0mixture should have a thick, soup-like consistency; add a little more water or stock if necessary. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve with freshly grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil, if you like.  Grouse, Curly Kale and Wild Mushroom Salad    Ingredients:  2 oven-ready grouse Couple of knobs of butter,\u00A0softened Salt and freshly ground black pepper 120\u2013150g wild mushrooms like girolles or ceps 100\u2013150g young tender curly kale leaves  For the bramble dressing: 12 blackberries, crushed\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0 with\u00A0a fork 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 2 tbsps vegetable or corn oil 2 tbsps rapeseed oil  When it comes to an expensive game bird like grouse, it\u2019s useful to have a couple of economical recipes up your sleeve to get the most out of the bird. I\u2019m a big fan of traditional roast grouse with all the trimmings and I rarely go off-piste with grouse recipes, but there are a couple of dishes I\u00A0serve during the season to allow restaurant customers to get their grouse fix. If\u00A0you\u00A0can\u2019t source grouse, don\u2019t worry, partridge or mallard work equally as\u00A0well for this salad. A salad is a great light option and using tender, young curly kale leaves will make it even more interesting. What\u2019s more, if you use the breasts for a starter you can get yet another meal out of the bird in a soup or broth.     1 | Pre-heat the oven to 240\u00BAC/gas mark 8, then season the grouse and rub the breasts with butter. Roast for about 15mins, keeping them nice and pink, then leave to rest. 2 | Meanwhile, melt remaining butter in a frying pan and\u00A0cook the wild mushrooms for 2\u20133mins, stirring and seasoning as they cook. 3 | Tear the curly kale leaves into smallish pieces, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch them for about 5secs,\u00A0drain and refresh under cold\u00A0water before drying on\u00A0kitchen paper. 4 | Mix together all of the ingredients for the bramble dressing and season. 5 | To serve, remove the breasts and legs from the carcass. Slice the breasts into about six pieces and take the leg meat off the bone. Arrange the curly kale leaves on four serving plates with the grouse and mushrooms and finally, spoon over the bramble dressing.  hixrestaurants.co.uk  *** MORE HIX:How To Make Great TapasMark Hix Makes The Ultimate Comfort FoodHow To Cook Shellfish***  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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