Tag: kale

Kale, Chickpea, Pomegranate Salad

A lovely Middle-Eastern (sorta) inspired salad chock full of flavour and nutrients! Served with a tahini-lemon dressing, this salad is a great side to any number of Middle-Eastern stews or rice dishes. If you don’t like kale, feel free to use any other green you prefer!

If you’d like to make this salad a little more substantial for a light lunch or the like, I highly recommend adding in some Bulgur wheat or couscous! If you can’t have gluten, quinoa would also be a good option.

Serves 4-6
Prep time: ~15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 large bunches of kale, leaves stripped off the stems and roughly chopped.
  • 1 bunch mint, finely chopped.
  • 1 bunch parsley, finely chopped.
  • 1 can chickpeas, rinsed well.
  • seeds from 1 pomegranate.
  • 1 cucumber, peeled if desired, finely sliced.
  • 1/2 red onion, finely minced.
  • 1-2 pieces Arabic bread, cut into small squares.
  • 1-2 tsp olive oil.

For the dressing:

  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice.
  • 1/2 cup olive oil.
  • 1 tbsp tahini.
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed.
  • 1 tsp agave syrup.
  • salt.
  • pepper.

Cooking Instructions:

First, time to make some easy croutons! Preheat the oven as high as it will go. Toss the bread pieces with a tiny bit of olive oil, spread them out thinly on a baking sheet, and pop in the oven. Bake them for 5-10 minutes, giving them an occasional stir, until nice and crispy. Take them out of the oven and allow to cool completely.

Place the kale in a large bowl and massage it gently to help tenderize it. Add the rest of the salad ingredients and toss until well-mixed.

Mix the lemon juice with the tahini, garlic, agave syrup, salt, and pepper. Slowly add in the olive oil while mixing (preferably in a blender or with an immersion blender), until nicely emulsified.

Top the salad with the croutons, dress liberally (or have dressing on the side), and serve!

Kale and Cauliflower Salad

Another salad that incorporates roasted vegetables. A little more effort than usual, but I find that mixing the salad while the roasted vegetables are still warm helps the kale tenderize a little bit more and taste better. This particular salad uses cauliflower, red peppers, and carrots – only the cauliflower is roasted, though!

Gluten-free
Serves 6
Prep time: ~30 minutes.

Ingredients:

  • 8 large handfuls of chopped kale.
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely diced.
  • 1 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets.
  • 2 large carrots, peeled if desired, finely grated.
  • 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar.
  • 1/2 cup olive oil.
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard.
  • 1 tsp agave syrup.
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely grated.
  • salt and pepper, to taste.

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper. Tumble all of your cauliflower florets onto the baking sheet, and season well with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and cooked all the way through.

While the cauliflower cooks, it’s time to make the dressing. Mix together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, agave syrup, salt and pepper. You can blend everything together using an immersion blender, food processor, or standing blender, but you can also just mix it all by hand if you don’t mind the dressing being a little less smooth and uniform.

Once the cauliflower is done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool slightly. This is a good time to dice up your red pepper and grate your carrots.

When the cauliflower is mostly cooled, but still a little bit warm, place all of your kale into a large bowl and mix in the cauliflower. This will allow the kale to wilt down slightly and become tender and easier to eat. Add in the bell pepper and carrots, and mix those through as well.

Dress well and serve immediately, or serve with dressing on the side to allow everyone to add as much or as little as they like!

Tomato, Kale, White Bean Soup

A slightly spicy soup with tons of amazing flavour. Inspired by a soup I had at work!

Prep time: ~45 minutes
Serves 4-6
Gluten-free

Ingredients:

  • 1 large onion, peeled and roughly diced.
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed/finely minced.
  • 1-2 tsbp olive oil.
  • 2 tsp chili flakes (add as much or as little as you like, really).
  • 1 bunch kale, washed, stripped from the stem, and cut/torn into bite-sized pieces.
  • 1 can whole tomatoes, roughly chopped, with the juice reserved.
  • 2 tsp tomato paste
  • 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed.
  • 2 carrots, peeled if desired, sliced into thin half-moons.
  • 2 stalks celery, finely sliced.
  • 6 cups vegetable stock.
  • 1 small handful fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried thyme).
  • salt and pepper, to taste.

Cooking Instructions:

Heat a large pot on medium heat with the olive oil in it. When it’s nice and hot, toss in the onion. Cook until it begins to soften slightly, then add in the garlic.

When the onion is soft and translucent, and the garlic is fragrant, add the carrots and celery. Reduce the heat slightly and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to caramelize. Next, add the kale, and cook until it starts to wilt slightly.

Dump in the tomatoes, their juice, the beans, and the tomato paste. Stir well, until everything is combined. Allow to cook for a minute or two, then add the chili flakes and the thyme. Stir well, allowing everything to combine for a minute, then add the vegetable stock.

Bring the whole pot to a boil, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer gently until all of the vegetables are tender. Season well with salt and pepper, and serve piping hot!

 

 

Kale, Walnut, Pomegranate Salad

A light salad with loads of fresh flavours that work really well together. The dressing used on this salad requires a few more ingredients than your standard vinaigrette, but it’s totally worth it, and goes great with tons of other salads!

Prep time: ~15 minutes
Serves 4-6
Gluten-free

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch kale, washed.
  • 1 large carrot, peeled if desired.
  • 1-2 large handfuls pomegranate seeds.
  • 1-2 large handfuls walnuts, crushed.

For the dressing:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil.
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar.
  • 1 tsp tahini.
  • 1 clove garlic.
  • pinch of salt.
  • pinch of pepper.
  • 1 tsp maple syrup.

Cooking Instructions:

Remove the kale from the thick stems and slice or tear into approximately bite-sized pieces. Grate (or slice) the carrot into thin strips. Toss all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

For the dressing, pulse everything in a food processor or blender until smooth. Taste, and make sure it’s to your liking, adjusting the seasoning if you please.

 

Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup

Yet another great recipe for fall and winter. I’ve got a long, cold season ahead of me, and I thrive off of soups and stews in the winter. This soup uses brown lentils, which can be kind of bland on their own, with a bunch of other vegetables to add plenty of flavour and nutrition! I recommend serving with bread.

Prep time: ~60 minutes
Gluten-free
Serves 6

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil.
  • 4 leeks (use the white and light green parts, not the dark green parts), cut into thin half-moons.
  • 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced.
  • 1 can of whole tomatoes, sliced, with the juice reserved.
  • 6 cups water or vegetable stock.
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces.
  • 1 bunch kale (thick stems removed), sliced into strips.
  • 1 cup brown lentils
  • 1 tbsp fresh thyme, removed from the woody stems.
  • Salt and pepper, to taste.

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the leeks and celery and cook until they begin to soften. Add the tomatoes and stir well. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the stock/water and bring to a boil. Stir in the sweet potatoes, lentils, kale, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, and simmer for approx 30 minutes, until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.