Leeks and kale are both packed with flavor, so putting them together just doubles the pleasure. Overcooking kale and leeks leaves them uninteresting and tasteless, as it does with most fresh vegetables. The best way to prepare fresh leeks and kale is to sauté them quickly so that they don’t lose either flavor or nutrition. It only takes a few minutes to cook fresh kale and leeks, so prepare them last when serving them as a side dish.
Wash your leeks and kale leaves thoroughly and pat them dry with paper towels.
Slice the hairy ends off of the leeks and cut the length of the leeks them into thick circles. Stop about 2 inches from the tops where the leaves are toughest.
Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and heat it over “Medium-High” heat until the olive oil’s scent becomes strong.
Toss in the smashed garlic cloves and sliced leeks and cook them for two to three minutes.
Squeeze the juice of 1/2 of a lemon into the skillet. Add a splash of white wine.
Let the juice start to bubble and add the kale leaves, tearing them into bite-size pieces as you drop them into the skillet.
Sprinkle a little bit of kosher salt and cracked black pepper over the vegetables and cook them until the kale just starts to wilt.