Spesa da 20 euro: cosa ho comprato

What is “cavolo nero” in Italian?

Cavolo nero translates literally as “black cabbage,” and the name fits: long, blistered, almost blackish-green leaves, sweeter and less bitter than curly kale. English-speaking cooks know it as Tuscan kale, lacinato, or “dinosaur kale” for its scaly texture. It is a cold-weather staple of Tuscan cooking, the kind of cheap, hardy green that anchors a 20-euro grocery haul.

It is the soul of ribollita, the Tuscan “reboiled” soup of cannellini beans and stale bread, and turns up in pasta, risotto and frittata. Useful aside: cavolo on its own is also a mild Italian exclamation — “che cavolo!” lands like “what the heck!” — a polite stand-in for a stronger word.