At a recent dinner, someone relayed a joke to me about the Seattle area's many seasons (was it eleven?). This week definitely qualifies as Summer #1. Four days in length and, fingers crossed, to be followed by another few summers after the return on Friday of Winter #7.
Summer #1 [Photo by Luke Dean-Weymark on Unsplash
But for these brief days of Summer #1, I have a kale salad for you that you'll actually take seconds of. I did.
Comedian Jim Gaffigan jokes that, "Yeah, kale is a superfood. And its super power is tasting bad." But the unrelenting health drumbeat that dark, leafy greens are good for us good for us GOOD for us made me put some in my shopping cart again this week.
Salad, of course, is all about the dressing. And, when you have a green as assertive as kale, you need a generous amount of dressing to make it palatable to eaters who aren't automatic kale fans. I went hunting for recipes online and found this one at Once Upon a Chef. It was beautiful to look at and had both peanut butter and sesame oil, but I was missing some of the other ingredients, and the recipe on the whole contained way too much sugar for me. Nevertheless, I came up with this delicious adaptation of it. See if you don't like it too!
Summer #1 Kale Salad
1 bunch of kale, rinsed, de-stemmed, and cut in chiffonade slivers
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
grated carrot
Dressing:
3 Tbsp peanut butter
3 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
1 Tbsp lime or lemon juice (I only had a lemon)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp oil (I used 2 Tbsp olive and 1 Tbsp grapeseed)
2 scant Tbsp honey
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic, peeled
1" knob of ginger, peeled
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
Combine dressing ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour over salad ingredients and toss.
This salad was a great accompaniment to our dinner of broccoli beef and rice, but it would go just as well with Mexican food. Happy summer!
