Boerkool

Eastside Road, February 13, 2012—

I LIKE PEASANT COOKING, and it seems particularly appropriate to winter, when slow cooking heats the house while it prepares food both comforting and nourishing. Now it's true enough that we first tasted boerkool on a warm summer day in 1976, when we made our first visit to Apeldoorn. There a teen-aged boy who would later become one of the best chefs I know — and who has run two of our favorite restaurants — threw together a mess of kale, potatoes, onions, and sausage.

Boerkool — Dutch for "farmer cabbage" — is the kind of dish that invites improvisation. Tonight Lindsey fried up some bacon, then onions; cubed potatoes go in next, with enough water to steam-sauté them; then the chopped kale on top, to steam and cook in the heavy, lidded pot. No need for salad after kale; more Damsons for dessert; then a slice of fruitcake. We're cleaning out the kitchen.

Reuilly, Denis Jamain, 2009: a little rough, tannic, young-tasting; likable.