This is a delightful, full-meal alternative to plain old burgers. The wonderful ‘beefy’ texture and rich flavor of grass-fed beef anchors this dish with great substance and nutrition. The grilled garden fresh corn kernels provide a contrasting delicate crunch and sweetness and caramelized smokiness; the scallions, a pique; the kale, earthy green succulence. Hearty app. for 6, main course for 3-4. After starting the grill, total prep time: 35 mins.
1 lb. ground beef
4 scallions, coarsely sliced
5 parsley sprigs chopped
3 ears sweet corn, grilled and cut off the cob
12-15 leaves kale
salt and pepper
Start the grill. Throw the first 3 ingredients into a large enough bowl. Cut the largest 2/3ds of the center rib out of the kale leaves. Blanche them for 30 seconds in gently boiling water, then lay them out to cool. Husk the corn and when you have a bed of glowing coals put the corn on the grill. Let the corn sit then roll ‘til some (15%) of the kernels are blackened. With a sharp knife cut the kernels off the cob, then run the back of the knife down the cobs to extract the kernel of the kernel and the remaining milky summer sweetness. Put the corn in with the beef. Salt and pepper generously and mix well (hands work best for this, but don’t squish the corn). Lay out a kale leaf, tip away from you and rib cuts overlapping slightly. Put a very-very heaping tablespoon (2-3 tbls.) of the meat mix on the near end and gently roll up, folding outside leaf edges inward into a neat little bundle. Bring _” of water to a gentle boil in a large wide flat pan while repeating the rolling ‘til all the meat mix is used. Carefully lay (close but not jammed) the kale-meat bundles into the boiling bath. Steam loosely covered for 8-12 minutes. Cut in half on a diagonal and tip up for appetizers. Garnish with salsa and grilled vegetables above!