healthy side dishes

There are always different food trends - foods that are touted as being the best for you, foods that are all the rage right now.  One food that has been turning up on menus all over the place is kale.  I just started cooking with it within the last year, I think as a result of having some turn up in a farm share we were a part of.  Kale is a dark, tough green that raw is very bitter.  I've started making it in a few ways.  One way is to cook the kale and wilt it lightly in olive oil.  Salt and pepper the kale, and cook until its desired taste.  The other way is to wilt it with an acid, like lemon juice. This is what I do the majority of the time. 

When you get kale from the store it comes in large bunches.  Either way that you cook the kale, the prep is the same.  Each leave of kale has a large, thick rib down the center. You want to pull the leaves away from the rib and toss those - they're too tough and fibrous to eat. 

Wilted Kale Salad

1 head of kale, leaves removed from the the ribs, thinly sliced

2 tbs lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp honey or agave

1 large beet, roasted and sliced (wash the beet and wrap it in aluminum foil - you don't need to peel it. roast the beet at 375 until a fork stuck in the beet is easily removed - depending on the size of the beet this could take anywhere from 30 - 60 min)

3-4 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds, walnuts, or almonds

In a large bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey/agave, along with some salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 1-2 tsps olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Toss the cut up kale in the olive oil until it get coated in the oil and just barely starts to wilt - about 2-3 minutes.  Put the kale in the bowl with the lemon vinaigrette and toss to coat the kale with the dressing.  Place on the counter top or in the fridge for 1/2 hour.

When you're ready to eat, toss the roasted beet with the kale and taste for seasoning - the kale may need extra salt.  Add the pumpkin seeds or nuts and toss again. Serve. 

This is just a base recipe - you can easily adapt this to use whatever you have in your fridge. It's great with a fruit like nectarine or mango chopped up in there, or something more savory like roasted cubed butternut squash.  Instead of a lemon vinaigrette you can use any fresh dressing you like - today when we ate this salad I made a dressing using sherry vinegar, and used roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries and walnuts with the kale.