{Handmade} LACINATO KALE SALAD

The kale party continues! This salad is great room temp or chilled, but can also be sauteed as a warm salad. Lacinato kale is a great kale to start with if you aren't a huge kale fan because it's not as tough & curly. It's almost like a kale / Romain lettuce hybrid. It looks like this if you are not familiar:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LACINATO KALE SALAD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yield: 

1 main portion or 2 sides


Materials:

1 small bunch or 0.5 large bunch Lacinato Kale (I used 10 leaves)
0.5 cup size chunk purple red cabbage (omit for sautee)
0.5 cup raw or roasted walnuts
scant 0.5 cup dried cherries or cranberries

For Dressing:

1 tbs. olive oil
1 small garlic clove, pasted
pinch Red Chili Flakes
0.5 tsp. whole grain mustard
0.4 tsp. maple syrup
salt & pepper to taste
0.25 lemon or orange, juiced
0.4 tsp. dried tarragon

Procedure - for COLD SALAD:

Use a small Mason Jar and shake together, or whisk together dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Rough chop kale and add to bowl/tupperware with lid.  Top with cabbage, walnuts, & cherries. Add dressing, lid and shake to distribute dressing all over kale. Eat right away, or let sit 1-2 hours before eating to soften kale. 

Procedure - for SAUTEED / WARM:

Rough chop kale & set aside. 

Heat olive oil up in pan over low, add garlic & chili flake. Once garlic is softened slightly, stir in mustard and maple syrup. 

Turn pan up to med-high and add kale, salt & pepper. Cook kale a few minutes until wilted slightly and crispy on the edges, tossing so that the garlic doesn't burn. 

Pull of heat, add lemon juice & tarragon. Toss.

Serve / eat immediately.

Results:

I loved this salad more than the Red Kale Salad & thought it was even better sauteed.  We had alongside breaded pork chops for dinner...delish!

{Handmade} RED KALE SALAD

I used to eat dirt as a kid. Hey, there are worse things. At least it's natural! Glue? Ew! Crayons? No thanks! But dirt? I liked. Perhaps I had a mineral deficiency. Perhaps I had more than a mineral deficiency? I heard that. Maybe you are wondering how this is relevant to kale salad...well, kale is one of those greens you know is good for you because it tastes like dirt in a good way. You can just taste the vitamins and minerals. One of my favorite ways to eat kale is by making a salad with it. It isn't technically a "raw" salad because I use lemon or vinegar to help breakdown the kale a little, but you get more vitamins and minerals than in cooked preparations. Plus, it is delicious! If you are looking for more ways to eat kale...give kale salads a go because the variety of kale, toppings and dressings you can use make the options endless. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~RED KALE SALAD~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Materials:

1 small bunch or 0.5 large bunch Red Kale
0.5 small apple, diced
1 small carrot, diced
0.25 cup slivered almonds

For Dressing:
0.25 lemon, zested & juiced
2 tsp. Olive Oil
0.5 tsp. vinegar of choice (see note below)
1 small garlic clove, pasted
salt & pepper to taste
pinch Red Chili Flakes

Mixed together, tasted, and decided to add:

0.25 tsp honey
0.5 tsp Dijon mustard

Note: My favorite vinegar for salad dressings is Queen Creek Olive Mill's Pomegranate White Balsamic. It is so delicious that sometimes I sprinkle it on a salad, add some S&P and call it done. You have to try it! If you live in AZ & haven't visited the Mill, you need to because it's beautiful and so much fun. They do a oil pressing tour, olive oil & vinegar tastings, have harvest events, a shop, restaraunt, gelato bar & more. They even have Chocolate Olive Oil, people! If I lived closer, I'd be there every week. http://www.queencreekolivemill.com 

Procedure:

Use a small Mason Jar and shake together, or whisk together dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Rough chop kale and add to bowl/tupperware with lid.  Top with chopped apple, carrot and almonds. Add dressing, lid and shake to distribute dressing all over kale. Let sit at least 1 hour before eating to soften kale. You can even store in fridge up to 4 hours before eating.

     

Results:

This salad was yummy. If you love kale, you need to make some up right now and have a kale party!


Discussion:

My next post will be another kale salad using Lacinato/Tuscan/Dinosaur/T-rex/Can you pick one name please!? Kale that can be eaten cold/room temp or sauteed. If you are a kale liker, but not lover, I would try the Lacinato Kale Salad first. :-)