Showing posts with label kale salad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kale salad. Show all posts

FOOD: Spicy, Warm Kale Salad with Sausage

Hi. Jen from Lemon Drop Love here. Do you ever find yourself burned out on the same old salads? I do. Sometimes their texture and flavors are all so similar, they just end up tasting the same. When this happens and I still want to get my veggie fix, I like to experiment with different kinds of ingredients. Hence, my new favorite---spicy, warm kale salad. The jalapeno infused dressing packs a ton of flavor and the kale holds up to all of the warm ingredients. This is the perfect salad when you feel like a hot meal but don’t necessarily want to break the diet with comfort food. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

12 oz. grape tomatoes
10 oz. kale chopped (ribs removed)
8 oz. spicy Italian sausages (2 large links)
3 jalapenos
1/2 cup olive oil plus 3 tablespoons
4 oz. ricotta cheese
1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  • Grill sausage links on medium heat for 15 minutes, turning often.
  • Meanwhile, place tomatoes on a baking pan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
  • Bake tomatoes for 20 minutes or until bursting and slightly charred on the outside.
  • Slice jalapenos and sauté in 1/2 cup olive oil for about 6 minutes or until jalapenos are soft and you can begin to smell their spicy aroma.
  • While the jalapenos are cooking, slice the cooked sausage links in to thin slices.
  • Remove pan from heat and discard jalapenos, but keep the oil in the pan.
  • Place kale into the infused oil and toss until all the leaves are coated in the oil. The heat from the oil and pan will warm the kale and soften it slightly.
  • Combine the kale, tomatoes and sausage in a large bowl. Add ricotta cheese and the juice from 1/2 of a lemon and toss.
Serves 4.












-post by jen costea



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Food: Kale Salad

I love salads - especially during the summer season. At our place - salads have been very popular lately, especially kale salad. Kale salad is super easy to make - a great alternative to lettuce because it holds its texture better. 

Strip the leaves from the woody stems and then chop them well. Add any normal extras - goes great especially with fruit such as pears or peaches, and some nuts like pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Toss it well in a simple, sweet dressing - mix 3 Tbs olive oil, 2 Tbs honey or agave, 2 Tbs balsamic or lemon, 1/2 tsp poppy seeds, 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt.


My version

His version - so much fancier than mine, I know.



Here we added some easy-to-make polenta chips

How do you make polenta chips?? Well, go to your local market & buy pre-formed polenta (in a tube) and using a very sharp, thin blade knife to cut very thin slices (about 1/8" thick). Deep fry in vegetable oil over medium heat - allow to crisp but don't burn. Drain the oil. While still hot, sprinkle with garlic powder or fine sea salt.

Did you know that Kale is healthy for you?
Kale’s health benefits are an excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K.  Kale is a veggie which is also known as borecole, & is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet! They say it also helps lower cholesterol levels....now if i could only get my dad to start eating it!  So, there you go!



Do you eat kale? How do you like it?









-images by jen ramos
-recipes from Mat

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