Sea Kale with Melted Butter Sauce - 1930's

There is a recipe for this on the BBC website that one of the Master Chef programmes, but the principles don't appear to have changed much.  Despite its name it is not Sea Weed and shouldn't be muddled up with Sea Kelp.

Sea Kale isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but it goes really nicely with melted butter much the same way that melted butter goes with toast.  This dish would be perfect as an a partner with meat or even just on its own as a nutricious vegetarian meal.  Replace the butter with dairy free butter for a vegan alternative.

Quarter of a pound of Butter
1 oz flour
Half a teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and White Pepper
Three quarters of a pint of water

1. Wash and rinse the sea kale thoroughly to remove the grit.  Cut away any brown or discolored parts.
2. Tie the heads up into small bundles with tape and put them into a basin of cold water until wanted.
3. Have a saucepan of boiling salted water, sufficient to cover the Sea Kale well, and put two table spoonfuls of vinegar into the water.
4. Put in the Sea Kale, and boil until it is quite tender-this will take about 20 minutes.  Lift out the bundles into a strainer, drain well, and remove the tapes.
5. Lay the Sea Kale in a hot vegetable dish and pour the following sauce over.

The Sauce

1/4 lb butter
1 oz, flour
1/2 teaspoonful Lemon Juice
Salt and White Pepper
1/4 pint water.

1. Melt half the butter in a saucepan, add flour and mix with a wooden spoon. until quite smooth.
2. Add bit by bit, three quarters of a pint of boiling water, stirring all the time.
3. Cook the sauce for a few minutes then add lemon juice.
4. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.  Finally, add the remainder of the butter in small pieces.  Pour the sauce over the Sea Kale and serve.