Celebrate soul food with Carla Hall’s creamed kale

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Carla Hall outside KCRW’s studios. Photo by Christopher Ho. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

As Carla Hall would discover later on in life, soul food was more than what she ate as a child at her grandmother’s house in Nashville, Tennessee. It was the passed-down genealogy of her ancestors, slaves brought to the United States, and  Americans fighting for their civil rights.

The former co-host of ABC’s The Chew began the research for her new book “Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration,” by taking a road trip through the American South, connecting with black cooks and families. The recipes she gathered along the way inspired her to rethink her favorite soul food dishes.

For this recipe, Hall took the traditional creamed spinach instructions and replaced the central ingredient with sturdier, more textured kale leaves. Give the recipe a try this holiday season!