Setting out mise en place for kale confetti salad.
Cooking at the farmer's markets serves to bring some continuity to what the vendors sell to the public and for the public to see what they can produce at home with what they buy.
Last Saturday was my second food demo at the Purcellville Community Market. I wanted to share this delightful and fresh kale confetti salad whose inspiration came from Terry Walter's book, Clean Start. Terry is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (where I now attend) and she has written at least 2 books on clean eating. Thank you Terry for your inspiration. I am having fun cooking my way through your book.
The movement towards eating food that comes closer to the source is only going to grow as we work to reduce obesity and various diseases and syndromes now being linked to lifestyle and notably our diets. Bite per bite you get more nutrition from eating greens than any other food on the planet. If you did nothing more this week but to ADD greens to your diet daily you would notice a big difference in how you feel after about 2 weeks...maybe sooner.
I set up my demo at Saturday's market and went around to the vendors to forage my ingredients for the demo. There was no kale this week so I substituted collards for the kale and was no worse for wear as the collards also made a nice substitution as well. Both greens are tough and dry in texture. You would think they needed to be cooked for weeks but with a few tricks you can prepare greens in ways you never imagined would taste as good in greens.
Greens are good.
Greens are great!
Greens are nutritious.
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Raw Kale Confetti Salad
Adapted from Clean Start, by Terry Walters
4 cups kale, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ avocado, peeled pitted & chopped
3 tablespoons, finely chopped red onions
3 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
1 small carrot, grated
3 tablespoons nuts, toasted (pepitas, walnuts, pecans, sesame or sunflower seeds)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
1. Remove stalks from kale and chop finely. Add oil, salt & ginger and massage till all leaves are well coated. Add chopped avocado and massage into the leaves. [Note: Use your hands when massaging the kale and squish the avocado into the kale leaves. ]
Let sit while you prep the other vegetables. Add other vegetables and toss well then add lemon and lime juice. Add nuts closer to serving.
May also sprinkle gomasio (sesame & sea salt & sea vegetables) as a condiment.
[Note on allergies: Leave out the nuts and avocado if you have allergies to nuts.]
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So, if you are using kale or collard greens...or chard, tear the tough stems from the leaves.
Wash the leaves in a salad spinner and then chop till small.
Now put the chopped greens in a bowl and add olive oil and a pinch of sea salt or kosher salt. Massage into the greens with your hands. Add chopped ripe avocado and massage till the avocado dissappears into the greens.
Let sit while you prep the other veggies.
Squish the avocado into the greens. Play with your food.
I bought this cool mini food processor from my Pampered Chef consultant, Caroline Kuhfahl. This is a great tool for cutting the veggies small for this salad. I grated fresh ginger into the greens along with the oil and salt in the beginning too. Next time I may amp up the amount of ginger since I love that spice. Ginger is great for digestion. [Psssst, by the way, this cool tool can be taken on campouts or places where you don't have electricity and clean up is a breeze. I just love this thing! ]
Finely chopped red onion
Is there any reason this is called confetti?
Toss it all together and enjoy! It stays well for a few days in the fridge if it lasts that long.
Last night we finished up the leftovers which I topped with some pickled, diced beets..over the top!
Market goers know about the pickle, sauerkraut and pickled beets...get some and top this salad when you make it.
We also demoed quinoa salad at the market, highlighting a high protein grain. The recipe for quinoa salad can be found in this post from earlier in the summer.
Go grab some greens and make some salad for part of your dinner tonight!
Greens are groovy.
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Bonnie
