simplest kale salad with lemony vinaigrette

Kale.  That glorious, magical green that was yanked from obscurity just a few short years ago, has now been catapulted from the murky, dank back corner of the produce section to front and center of every healthy eater's dinner table. 

 

Kale.

 

Is.

 

Everywhere.

Kale is one of my favorite ingredients to use during the Alaskan summer months.  While it is at its peak in the "Lower 48" states in late fall and early winter, Alaska's cool, sunny weather produces bushels and bushels of the hearty, leafy green through summer and fall.  It turns up in many of my dishes in one way or another, thanks to a healthy stock of it in my container garden, as well as beautiful supplies at our local farmers markets. 

 

I skipped the farmers market last weekend, however, and instead picked vegetables at Pyrah's Pioneer Peak Farm, a local you-pick-'em farm in Palmer, Alaska.  Pyrah's is a magical place for me, and I make the hour long trek from Anchorage to Palmer at least once a summer to get my hands on some truly fresh Alaskan produce.  Here's a few pics from my trip last weekend.  Kohlrabi bigger than my head, I tell you.  MAGICAL! 

My favorite type of kale is Lacinato or Tuscan kale, which is used frequently in Italy.  It's long, slender strands make beautiful raw salads.  I save the curly and Russian kale for soups, stews, and sautés.  Pyrah's Lacinato kale was a thing of perfection, so I helped myself to heaps of it. 

 

This salad recipe comes from my dear friend Ann, my wine and food soul sister-from-another-mister.  Ann and I were destined for greatness the moment she picked me up in a bar.  Yes, in a bar.  You see, I was on a date at this bar a few years back.  Ann just happened to be sitting next to me in the bar listening in on the conversation I was having with my date, and interrupted us to say: "You guys sound like fun.  Can I join you?"  We talked the rest of the night!  Needless to say, the dude didn't last, but I got a lifelong friendship out of that date.  That's a solid WIN in my book!  

As with most of my recipes, this salad is very simple.  The key to any simple recipe is to start with GOOD INGREDIENTS.  When you have good ingredients, you don't need to complicate things!  On this, Ann and I are always in agreement.  When I make this salad, I use fresh kale, toasted walnuts, and high quality Parmesan cheese and olive oil.  I never use bottled lemon juice- always squeeze it fresh for the best taste. 

 

Kale can be tough to eat when its raw, so it's important to dress the kale and massage it with your hands a bit and then let it sit for about 20-25 minutes to gently break down some of its tougher fibers.  Massage your salad?  Sure, it sounds weird.  Just trust me.  Weird is good sometimes. 

 

And by all means, dress your salad with pretty and edible Nasturtium petals if you have them.  I have them growing by the hundreds at my house, so they're appearing pretty much everywhere.  In my cereal, my morning yogurt, in my ice cream, on my toast...

 

However, this salad would be perfect topped with grilled Alaska salmon, which is how Ann served it to me the first time, or seared Alaska scallops or spot shrimp.  The possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

Kale Salad with Lemony Vinaigrette

(Serves 2 large salads, or 4 small ones)

8 cups kale (about one large bunch, preferably Lacinato or Tuscan), stems removed and roughly chopped
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup golden raisins
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

For the dressing:

3 tablespoons shallots or red onion (finely minced if you don't have a blender)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons honey or agave syrup
several grinds of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of kosher salt

(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place walnuts on a sheet tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and toasted.  Do not burn!  Once they cool, roughly chop into large pieces.

(2) Place the shallots or red onion in a food processor (or use a stick blender) until finely minced.  Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse until blended.

(2) Add enough dressing to your liking to the kale, toss thoroughly (massage with your hands for best results), and let sit for 20-25 minutes to tenderize the greens.  Before serving, add half of the raisins, half of the walnuts, and half of the cheese and toss well.  Top the salad with the rest of the walnuts, raisins, and cheese and sprinkle Nasturtium petals on top if you have them.  Serve the remaining dressing on the side (if any). 

Enjoy!
xo H

lentils with kale, goat cheese, and walnuts

It's springtime in Alaska.  A wondrous time of year, full of piles of brown snow on the sides of the highways, potholes the size of craters ready to take a bite out of your car's undercarriage, and windshields full of rock chips from the copious amounts of gravel on road ways that have yet to be swept up and re-deposited for storage in anticipation of next year's snowfall.  Ah, a magical time of year indeed.

Springtime in Alaska is my least favorite time of the year.  Which is why I'm getting the hell out of Dodge to a sunny destination.

Until then, I will endure the final stages of winter with the rest of my neighbors who are anxiously awaiting that first flicker of green on the trees.  All the while knowing full well that Mother Nature's wicked sense of humor likely means at least one more dumping of snow before the end of May.

Sigh.

I've been keeping my Alaskan Springtime blues at bay by cooking up a storm in my kitchen!  Short ribs, pasta, spring salads, soups...anything to keep the dreary brown grass on my lawn out of sight and out of mind.  Summer can't come soon enough!

I devoured this lovely little lentil salad soon after I took these pictures.  Perfectly light and healthy, yet hearty enough to fill me up, this dish makes a great weeknight meal after a busy day at work.  Even better, the leftovers hold up well for lunch the next day.  Which is exactly what I did with them.



Lentils with Kale, Goat Cheese, and Walnuts

(Adapted from Laura Calder)

1 cup French green (du Puy) lentils
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of fresh thyme, or a pinch of dried
2 tablespoons (or more) olive oil
2 large shallots, diced (or one medium red onion, diced)
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups kale, roughly chopped
splash of balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
scant 1 cup of walnuts
4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place walnuts on a sheet tray and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and toasted.  Do not burn!  Once they cool, roughly chop into large pieces.

(2) Put the lentils in a saucepan with 1 1/3 cups of water, the bay leaf, and thyme sprig.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 25-30 minutes.  If the liquid is not all absorbed, just drain off any excess.

(3) Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan or dutch oven.  Saute the onion until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and sauté for about a minute, then add the kale and cook until it has wilted a bit, about 2-4 minutes.  Add a little more olive oil if necessary to soften the kale.  Season with kosher salt and several grinds of fresh ground pepper.

(4) Deglaze the pan with a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar, and stir to incorporate.  Add the cooked lentils, taste and reseason with more salt and pepper, if necessary (I found mine needed quite a bit!  Lentils are pretty bland otherwise).  Add more balsamic vinegar if you like that sweet acidic roundness like I do.

(5)  Place the lentil mixture in a large serving dish, and top with the crumbled goat cheese and chopped walnuts.  Drizzle with a little more olive oil if you like (I enjoyed the way it made the final dish glisten a bit).  Serve warm.

Enjoy!
xo h

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