my husband’s aunt sent me a really nice note about this little blog of mine today, but lamented about the size of her waistline as she (and all of us) finds herself recovering from the sheer gluttony of the past few months. needless to say, she doesn’t want to make that cake anytime soon. i don’t blame her -- neither do i!
i am, on the other hand, PILING IT ON in the land of veg these days and it feels oh so good. my protocol of late has been to hit my markets as often as 3 days a week if i can, but then leave the produce on my counter until it is prepped (i.e. cleaned, chopped, etc). only then does it earn the right to sit in my fridge. sometimes it waits overnight if i just can’t get it done (come on, i have a 7 month-old and a 3 year-old). (another note : my house errs on the chilly side so nothing goes bad. that would defeat the point, wouldn’t it?)
anyway, i chop ahead and then everything is there when i want it. most meals can go from fridge to table that way in under 10 minutes. yea!
well, that brings us up to date on the story of this recipe. i don’t know how the rest of you feel about your dark, leafy greens, but i’ve had to take a long journey to find love in the world of collards and kale.
i didn’t grow up with cooked greens in my daily diet so the flavor profile didn’t come naturally. and when i did have them, they were always so brown and soggy, i didn’t understand how there could actually be nutrition somewhere in there. so when i brought some elephant kale home from the farmers market a few months ago, i was wary. as i do with my veg, i chopped that bunch up and rinsed and cleaned it in my salad spinner. then i just threw it in the fridge -- in the spinner -- and stayed away. it took a couple days to motivate myself to try to eat the stuff, but i landed on a recipe that sounded intriguing and decided it was time. I am going to need to say this in all caps because I am still so shocked by it myself, but KALE IS IN MY TOP FIVE. of all time. seriously, i freaking love kale. KALE?! kale. it’s amazing stuff. besides being SO good for you, it’s very delicious, economical and efficient. kale is remarkable. it’s like the squash of the green kingdom. it keeps, like, forever. (no joke, i’ve kept it in the spinner for 10 days and it’s as happy as the day i bought it.)
i’ve been tweaking my favorite recipe for months now, and i have settled in on a method that just straight delivers. this salad will not only boost your energy but your brain somehow gets smarter from it too. it’s my go-to lunch many days of the week now. trust me and try it.
Super Kale Salad (for champions only)
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*a bunch of kale, chopped
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*4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
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*a handful of your favorite nuts(pistachio is getting it done for me lately)
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*olive oil
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*pinch of salt (or two)
optional (but encouraged):
* 1 slice of bacon
* sriracha (aka rooster sauce) **highly recommended!!
* any other roasted veg that might be hanging out in your fridge
Heat up your largest non-stick pan with a bit of olive oil and toss in the kale, garlic, and nuts all at once. Throw some salt over it all and let everything sit there and start getting crispy for awhile. When you really hear it making some popping sounds, start sauteing it and moving everything around so it doesn’t burn. I like to use tongs so that I can lift big clumps and flip it.
Everything in your pan should get nice and browned, and the kale should still be bright green but wilted. Once you pile it all in a bowl, drizzle some rooster sauce -- or whichever preferred “wang” sauce as we refer to it in our house -- on the whole mess and have at it. Num!
