roasted vegetable & kale salad with honey vinaigrette



Here's what I think. When you make something this healthy that tastes this good, it is your responsibility as a human being to share it with the world. And by world, I really mean with all my girlfriends. Because who needs a tofu popscicle or dairy-free/wheat-free/vegan/bilingual/yoga-enthusiast green smoothie when you can eat something that tastes DELICIOUS and probably cures cancer at the same time?!

 

(*NOTE: this salad has not been proven to cure cancer.)

I made this salad for my friend Ann a few weeks ago, and she raved about how lip-smackingly good it was.  It typically serves 4, but we polished off all the greens and veggies between the two of us.  That alone should tell me it's worthy of a blog mention.

 

But what REALLY told me it was a great dish was when she texted me the next morning: "I dreamed about your salad.  That's how good it was."

 

It made my day.

 

This recipe also outs me as a kale groupie.  Is there such a thing?  I think so.  The interwebs are chock full of recipes for kale smoothies, kale chips, kale pasta, kale quesadillas, kale pesto, and even kale ice cream.  (For the record, I think that sounds totally gross.  But I'd probably try it.)

 

Americans have gone a little kale nutso of late. 

 

But when a vegetable this nutritious tastes as good as it does, it's worthy of jumping on the kale bandwagon.  And one of the best things about it is that it grows particularly well in cooler climates, which is perfect for our Alaska gardens.  I can't wait for summer!

 

 

Kale is a tougher green, so I toss it with a little vinaigrette and let it sit for a bit to tenderize.  This calls for a lot of roasted veggies, and I ended up using two baking sheets to give all of the vegetables enough room to roast instead of steam.

 

I think this salad is the perfect example of how a salad can be a main course.  If you're looking to slim down for swimsuit season, or want to increase your intake of vegetables without dreading it, this is an ideal meal to kickstart your plan.  Delicious and filling, you'll feel totally satisfied after you've cleaned your plate (and I swear you won't miss the absence of meat, although it's equally wonderful served with a fillet of simply grilled wild Alaska salmon).

 

The vegetables I used are merely a guideline.  Use what looks best at the grocery store or farmers market.  Think eggplant, zucchini, sweet potatoes, or cauliflower.  All would work equally well in place of the ones I use. 

 

Cook what you love- a guideline for this salad and a motto to live by.

 

Roasted Vegetable & Kale Salad with Honey Vinaigrette

 

Adapted from Sunset Magazine

 

Serves 4 hearty Alaskan appetites

 

For the salad:

1 bunch kale (about 8 ounces or 4 cups), stems removed and chopped into ribbons

4 small or 2 large beets, peeled and cut roughly into 1 inch pieces

1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces

1 small red onion, sliced into 8 wedges

1 medium fennel bulb, sliced into 8 wedges

1 red pepper, chopped into 1 inch pieces

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

3/4 teaspoons salt

several grinds of fresh ground pepper

2 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

 

For the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

several grinds of pepper

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Toss vegetables with the oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and place on one or two large baking sheets.  (If you use two, put the beets and red onion together so that the beets don't "bleed" purple all over the rest of the veggies.)  Roast for about 40 minutes or so, turning once (and rotating baking sheets from top to bottom if you're using two), until tender with crispy golden edges.  Ten minutes before you pull the veggies out of the oven, sprinkle the walnuts on the baking sheet with the veggies to toast them.

 

2. Whisk vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, honey, and Dijon mustard.  Toss kale with 2-3 tablespoons of the dressing in a large bowl.  Let the kale sit in the dressing for 5-10 minutes before assembling the salad.  Place kale on the salad plates

 

3. After the vegetables have cooled for 5-10 minutes, using the same large bowl used for the kale, toss the veggies and walnuts with 2-3 tablespoons (or more) of the dressing.

 

4. Top the kale with the veggies and walnuts, and top with crumbled goat cheese.  Serve with the dressing on the side.

 

Enjoy!

 

xo H



Charred Sugar-Crusted Wild Alaska Salmon

As a Top Chef (read: Tom Colicchio) fan , I was completely thrilled to see the Top Chef crew (Tom Colicchio) in Alaska in its latest episodes.  The "cheftestants" (and Tom Colicchio) couldn't say enough nice things about our seafood.  I mean, we Alaskans already know that our seafood is the best in the world.  But we still like hearing nice things about us.

Especially when these words are uttered from the mouth of Tom Colicchio.  I heart him.

 

 

I love ALL Alaskan seafood.  Halibut, cod, scallops, spot prawns, king crab...the list goes on.   It is THE BEST in the world.  But for my money, nothing compares to delicious, healthy, and sustainable wild Alaska salmon.  Some of my favorite childhood memories involved a boat, a river, and a fishing pole with a fighting salmon at the other end of the line.  

 

For many years, my Dad would haul my mom, us three rugrats, and our boat down the Richardson Highway south to the Gulkana River to fish for king salmon.  While my classmates were heading to Disneyland, SeaWorld, and the Hawaiian shores, my family had more rustic (and budget-friendly) adventures to look forward to during the summer months.  Never one to take the easy road, my Dad took camping very seriously.  So he'd load us into the river boat and we'd travel up river until Dad found the perfect fishing hole near a flat, sandy beach to set up our COMPOUND.

 

No joke.  Our annual Gulkana fishing trip required no less than four tents: one for the parents, one for the kids, a mosquito tent for cooking, plus a "shower tent," which was nothing more than a blue tarp Dad propped up for privacy with a fancy (i.e., not fancy) solar shower.  It was like showering under a leaky faucet, but it was far better than going without a shower for 6 days.

 

For most people, tent camping in a campground is an adventure in itself.  But our annual family camping trips on the Gulkana were another level of "roughing it."  You won't find picnic tables randomly scattered in the Alaska wilderness, so my dad would prop up a piece of plywood on dead trees to use as a table.  Dining at the river compound was always a treat.  Breakfast consisted of eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon on some days, while on others we'd fight over who got to eat the box of Fruit Loops from the cereal variety pack.  Dinner might be chili dogs or Dinty Moore beef stew, in the event the fish weren't biting.  

 

But when they were, we'd eat like Kings.  Alaskan kings, to be exact. 

  

As a kid, you never really know how good you had it.

 

As an important aside, we Alaskans have a bone to pick- literally and figuratively- with farmed salmon. I'm no expert on the subject, but I know enough to never want to eat the stuff. Farmed salmon is full of toxic PCBs, and farming methods pollute the environment and endanger wild fish.   In a word, it's unnatural.   And don't even get us Alaskans started on "frankenfish," or genetically-modified salmon.  Eww icky eww eww.
 

Wild Alaskan salmon, on the otherhand, is totally natural, delicious, and sustainable. 

 

 

If you live in Alaska, need I remind you just how lucky we are to live here?!  Our majestic mountains, tranquil lakes, and rushing rivers full of salmon.  After 34 years, I'm still blown away by the beauty of my home state.  

 

If you don't live in Alaska, you should come visit, either by plane or by making a trip to your local grocery store.  Pick up some wild Alaska salmon and make this dish.  Serve it along side some rice and grilled veggies.  Your family, and Alaska, will thank you!

 

 

 

Charred Sugar-Crusted Wild Alaska Salmon

 

(Recipe adapted from Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute)

 

For the sugar rub:

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 tablespoon paprika

1/2 tablespoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

sprinkle of cinnamon

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

 

4 to 6 skinless wild Alaska salmon fillets (about 4-6 ounces each)

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

 

(1) Remove the pinbones from the salmon fillets (I use little needle-nose pliers, but tweezers also work).  Generously coat one side of each fillet with the dry sugar rub. 

 

(2) Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat.  Place fillets seasoned side down in the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes (charred is good...burnt is bad).  Turn each fillet over, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 2-6 minutes more.*

 

(*NOTE: How long salmon needs to cook depends on how thick it is.  My thin fillets took a total of only 4 minutes to cook, but thicker fillets can take 8 minutes or so.  Use a fork to flake and check the middle if you're not sure.  If you purchased quality wild Alaska salmon, I always err on slightly underdone than slightly overdone!)



Fishing for silver salmon in Seward, Alaska

Enjoy!

xo H