Leftover salad that tastes
even better the next day? Yes, it’s possible.
Enter the kale salad.
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| Fall Kale Salad: Fig-Balsamic Vinaigrette, Roasted Heirloom Winter Squash, Pecans, Pomegranate, & Black Mission Figs |
For many foodies, kale salad
is “so last year,” but when it comes to your health this is not a recipe that
should be taken out of rotation.
In every serving (1 heaping
cup) of the Fall Kale Salad recipe
below, there is 4 days’ worth of vitamin A, nearly 3 days’ worth of vitamin C,
20% each of your daily calcium and iron, 7g each of daily protein and fiber
needs, 377mg of omega-3’s, and nearly half a months’ worth of vitamin K! Kale
is also a good source of B vitamins (including folate), magnesium, and
potassium.
As is usually the case, the
recipes I post are a product of what is in season locally (including what is growing
in my yard) and what is leftover in my refrigerator or stocked in my pantry. Don’t
give up on the recipe if you don’t have all of the ingredients or they are
expensive in your area! Below the recipe is a long list of substitutions that
you can use to tailor this recipe to your taste, the season, and the
ingredients you already have (or easily have access to).
Happy cooking and healthy
eating!
Fall Kale Salad*
Ingredients-Salad
Base
1 bunch of curly kale (the
type most commonly seen at the grocery store)
Approximately 1-1/2
Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (aged is best)
1-1/2 teaspoons fig jam,
honey, or other sweetener
Approximately 2 Tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground sea salt, to
taste
Freshly ground black pepper,
to taste
Ingredients-Toppings
1 cup cubed roasted or baked
winter squash (acorn, butternut, or kabocha)
6-10 ripe figs, sliced or
cubed
Arils of ½ medium
pomegranate (see the Knife Skills #3: Pomegranates to see how to remove the arils from the fruit)
½ medium red onion, thinly
sliced
1/4 -1/2 cup roasted,
chopped walnuts or pecans
Directions
1.
Rinse kale and
dry with a salad spinner or towel. Fold kale leaves in half so that the ribs
are on one side and the curly part of the leaf is on the other; slice the ribs
off with a knife and discard. Chop the leaves into roughly 1-2” square pieces
and put into a large mixing bowl.
2.
Drizzle kale
with the vinegar, sweetener, and oil. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper, then
“massage.” This means grab handfuls of the kale mixture, make a fist to crush
the leaves in you hand, then release. Repeat until all leaves are glistening
and the volume of kale in the bowl is reduced by 1/3-1/2. Add more salt and
pepper midway through this process.
3.
Taste one of the
pieces of kale and adjust with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper until you achieve
a flavor that tastes good to you (i.e. if too acidic add more oil, if not
acidic enough add more vinegar, if the flavor doesn’t stand out after that add
a bit more salt and pepper). As with all salads, you should have enough
dressing just to coat the leaves but not pool in the bottom of the bowl.
4.
Mix in toppings
and serve.
Serves: 6 medium-sided or 4 large salads
Storage: This salad tastes great for 2 days after you
make it, so make it ahead or make extra to take for lunch the following day.
*Alternative Kale Salad Ingredients
Below are
substitutions that you can make to the salad recipe above to create different
flavors or make use of other ingredients you have at home.
Alternative
Ingredients
·
Substitute other
greens for the curly kale, including:
o
Swiss chard,
other types of kale, or shredded collard greens.
·
Substitute
another acidic ingredient for the balsamic vinegar, including:
o
Lemon/lime or
orange juice, or other vinegars.
·
Substitute
another sweetener, including:
o
Agave, honey,
different jam, brown sugar, maple syrup.
·
Add other
ingredients to the salad base/dressing, including:
o
Dijon or whole
grain mustard, tahini or nut butters, herbs, spices.
·
Substitute different
toppings, including:
o
Other fruit
(apples, pears, orange slices, mango, berries, dried cranberries or other dried
fruit),
o
Other vegetables
(shredded carrots, cucumbers, peppers, artichoke hearts, avocado, radishes,
sprouts, scallions, shallots, red cabbage, fennel, roasted Brussels sprouts),
o
Other nuts or
seeds (pine nuts, sesame seeds, shaved coconut, macadamia nuts, almonds,
hazelnuts, cashews).
·
Add other
ingredients to the toppings:
o
Legumes/Beans
(edamame or other beans),
o
Grated or shaved
hard cheeses (parmesan, asiago) or crumbled feta,
o
Cooked whole
grain (quinoa, brown rice, etc.),
o
Croutons, fried
strips of tortillas or wontons.
