Eat your greens—the versatile kale salad

Leftover salad that tastes even better the next day? Yes, it’s possible.

Enter the kale salad.

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.

Thanksgiving: Acorn Squash Stuffed with White Beans & Kale

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. Focused on family, friends and being thankful - it eschews the commercial focus of so many other holidays. As a chef, of course, I also love that it involves cooking with the bounty of the harvest.

There are definitely a few standbys on my holiday table, but at least half are up for experimentation each year.

(Successful) Experiment #1: Squash sans butter and brown sugar. This recipe is a hearty, savory take on acorn squash that could serve as a main dish for any vegetarians at your table - or a delicious side for everyone else.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with White Beans & Kale

Acorn Squash Stuffed with White Beans & Kale

Ingredients:

2 medium acorn squash

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 small or medium onion, chopped in 1/4-inch dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons water*

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes or 2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 large bunch of kale or chard, washed and roughly chopped

1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed

1/2 cup coarse dry whole-wheat breadcrumbs (see Note)

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F.

2. If using, add sundried tomatoes to a small bowl and add just enough boiling water to cover (~1/2 cup). Let rest for 10 minutes or until reconstituted, then finely slice. Keep liquid, you’ll use it later. Alternatively, you can use sundried tomatoes packed in oil. If you do, do not soak them in boiling water, just slice thinly.

3. Cut squash in half (from stem to slightly pointed end). Scoop seeds out with a tablespoon. Cut a small slice off the rounded, green (uncut) sides, to make a base that sits flat when you put them on a pan.

4. Place squash, flesh side up, on a microwave safe dish (generally, only 2 halves at a time will fit in the microwave). Brush exposed yellow-orange flesh with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave 5 minutes. Repeat with other two squash halves. This is just to shorten cooking time. If you prefer, you can cook entirely in the oven, but this will take 1-1/2 hours rather than the 20-30 minutes written below.

5. Transfer partially-cooked squash to baking sheet, flesh side up, and put into oven for 20-30 minutes while you cook the filling. Check to see if they are done with a fork, there should be very little resistance when the flesh is pierced. If there is a lot of resistance, return to oven for 10-15 more minutes and test again.

6. Heat large sauté pan, over medium high heat. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil. When warmed, reduce heat to medium and add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions start to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.

7. If using tomato paste, add now and cook stirring constantly 1 minute. Add kale and tomato soaking liquid, if you have it, or 2 tablespoons water. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook covered, stirring every minute for 3-5 minutes or until kale is tender. Add beans and sundried tomatoes, if using. Stir to combine. Add additional water, 1 tablespoon at at time, if things start to stick to the pan. Cook until beans are heated through (1-2 minutes).

8. In a small bowl, add bread crumbs, 1 Tablespoon of oil and a couple pinches of salt; stir well. Set aside.

9. Fill squash halves will kale mixture. Top with bread crumb mixture.

10. Turn broiler to low. Place baking sheet with stuffed squash under broiler (with ~3-4 inches space from top of squash to broiler) and broil until crumbs start to brown. Watch closely as they can burn quickly.

Finished, just out of the broiler - This is what the crumbs should look like after being toasted.

Serves: 4 as a main dish, 8 as a side.

*If using tomato paste, you will need additional water. You may need a couple of extra tablespoons of water regardless.

Note: I used 2 slices Good Seed bread, cut into 1-inch cubes and pulsed in the food processor until the size of crumbs you see in the picture above. This made a bit more than called for in  the recipe.

A giant bite waiting to be eaten

Nutrition facts for main dish serving (1/2 squash with filling). Calories 430, Fat 12g, Carbs 72g (Fiber 15g, Sugars 3g), Protein 15g, Vit A 429%, Vit C 316%, Calcium 32%, Iron 39%. Sodium depends on the amount of salt you add.