Kale and Quinoa Salad

I wasn’t much of a kale person until this summer when I had an amazing kale salad at The White House Tavern in Aspen. It definitely made an impact on me and I have been on the lookout for a kale salad recipe ever since. And I found one by Smitten Kitchen! (Smitten Kitchen is a wonderful food blog, btw) It is not the same salad by any means, but it is yummy and good for you, so I wanted to share. Hope you like it, too!

Recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen with  a few modifications:

Salad
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
8 ounces Black Kale
1/2 cup slivered almonds, very well toasted and cooled
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped a bit (I used dried cranberries)
2 to 3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
2 ounces ricotta salata, crumbled or finely grated (I left this out)
Few gratings of fresh lemon zest

Dressing
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons smooth Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coarse Dijon mustard
Just shy of 1 teaspoon honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Rinse quinoa well in a small colander. Place quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer with a couple pinches of salt. Simmer at a very low temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender. Drain any un-absorbed liquid from cooked quinoa. Spread quinoa on a plate to cool quickly.

Wash your kale and dry it well. Then, with a knife, remove the rib from each stalk, leaving long strips of kale leaves. Stack the leaves in small batches, roll them tightly the long way, and cut the roll crosswise into thin ribbons. Add the kale ribbons to a large salad bowl. Add remaining salad ingredients to kale and toss to mix.

Whisk dressing ingredients together in a small dish, and pour the dressing over the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then dig in.

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