Kale-a-palooza Salad

by Dorothy Reinhold on January 14, 2013


Print This Post Print This Post Kale-a-palooza Salad on Shockingly Delicious. Recipe here: https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/?p=11325

Riffing on a great basic recipe is one of the pleasures of cooking. I start by simply taking out a beloved formula – in this case my light and Lemony Garbanzo Kale Salad with Tuna – and beginning to embellish.

Perhaps I have something in the fruit bowl that needs using – Fuyu persimmons, for example. Perhaps I have a few grape tomatoes that have seen better days, and are begging to be put to good use. Perhaps I have radishes that I meant to roast, but never got around to it.

And so was born Kale-a-palooza Salad, a fitting main dish repast for any lunch or dinner when I want to feel like I’m eating cleaner than usual.

Kale-a-palooza Salad on Shockingly Delicious. Recipe here: https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/?p=11325I named it for our Food Bloggers Los Angeles event – Kale-a-palooza – held on Saturday to celebrate kale — among the healthiest, most nutrient-dense vegetables on the planet.

More on that event later this week, when I will feature all the kale-tastic dishes FBLA members created.

But for now, feast on this salad, and dream of bikini season.

Recipe: Kale-a-palooza Salad with Garbanzos, Persimmons, Tuna and Tomatoes

SummaryLight, lemony, packed with tuna and garbanzos for protein and nutritious kale, this is a main-dish salad that satisfies for dinner or lunch the next day, if you have leftovers.

Ingredients

  • 1 (15- or 16-ounce) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (5-ounce) can Tonno solid light tuna in olive oil (you will use the oil)
  • 3 tablespoons red onion, sliced paper thin and finely minced
  • 6 leaves Lacinato kale (aka Dinosaur, Cavolo Nero or Tuscan), stems removed and leaves cut in a chiffonade
  • 2 firm Fuyu persimmons, skinned and diced
  • Handful of grape tomatoes, quartered
  • 4-5 radishes, finely diced
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 lemon (you will use 1 teaspoon zest and 3 tablespoons juice from it)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons fresh basil cut in a chiffonade
  • 3 tablespoons fresh mint cut in a chiffonade
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • A pinch of EACH of the following:
    • Ground ginger
    • Dry mustard
    • Dried oregano
    • Dried thyme
    • Kosher salt (taste salad before adding)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, add garbanzos, tuna with its oil (this will contribute to the dressing), onion, kale, persimmons, tomatoes, radishes, garlic, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, olive oil, basil, mint, pepper and all dried spices. Stir and toss to mix well. Taste and add salt if needed. (The tuna and garbanzos will likely have salt in them, so taste before adding more.)
  2. Allow to rest for at least half an hour before serving (better for an hour or two).
  3. If you wish to serve immediately, massage the oil and lemon juice into the cut kale leaves for about 3-5 minutes to soften them, then add all the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. You can soften the kale either by hand massaging it (for instant consumption), or by letting time do the trick.
  4. Serves 4 (main dish for dinner)

Quick notesKale-a-palooza Salad on Shockingly Delicious. Recipe: https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/?p=11325

This salad holds up very well in the refrigerator for several days. In fact, I recommend making it at least 2-4 hours before you want to eat it, so all the flavors mix and mingle!

Variations

Try making a wrap out of it the next day for lunch. Wrap in tortilla or soft lavash.

Source

Created by Dorothy Reinhold/ShockinglyDelicious.com

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Diet tags: High protein
Number of servings (yield): 4
Culinary tradition: USA (General)
My rating 5 stars:  ★★★★★

Come back later this week for a full display of all the kale-rific potlock offerings brought to Kale-a-palooza!  

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

The Wimpy Vegetarian January 15, 2013 at 7:45 pm

Another fantastic looking recipe! I love kale and will have to try this!

Reply

Anne@FromMySweetHeart January 15, 2013 at 2:53 pm

I’m always looking for new ways to use kale besides soups. And this salad is just beautiful….great colors and textures and flavors!

Reply

kirsten@FarmFreshFeasts January 15, 2013 at 11:33 am

I’m so saving this concept for when the new farm share shows up and there’s still bits of the previous week’s bounty languishing in the crisper (I’m talking about the radishes, of course, bane of my crisper during CSA season. Why is radish season so long anyway?). Persimmons are not usually in my fruit bowl-how do you think something more basic like pears or apples would do?

Reply

Dorothy January 15, 2013 at 9:29 pm

Kirsten,
Pears, apples or even mango would be divine!

Reply

Faye January 14, 2013 at 6:12 pm

This sounds delicious, with the herbs and pinches of spice, and looks beautiful. The combination of greens and garbanzo beans gives it an appealing Middle Eastern feel, except for the persimmon. I guess I’m a bit conservative when it comes to fruit; a sweet Fuyu persimmon is so wonderful on its own that I couldn’t bear to put it in a savory dish (unless some time we plant a tree and have lots and lots of them!)
I love your idea of wrapping it in lavash too.

Reply

Dorothy January 14, 2013 at 6:35 pm

Thanks, Faye! I agree with you about persimmons (they are so, sooo good!), but I encourage you to branch out and try it in your salad some time. A whole new world!

Reply

Faye January 15, 2013 at 11:54 pm

Thanks, Dorothy. I do like fruit that can be tart or have a slight bitter component to their flavor, like kiwis, blackberries and kumquats, in savory salads, or papayas that don’t turn turn out sweet enough to be dessert.

Reply

Teguh February 11, 2013 at 6:19 pm

My girlfriend and I LOVE Kale! We use it often in a lot of dinrefeft ways. My personal favorite is for breakfast or a quick dinner with eggs and oatmeal. For a more savory rather than sweet oatmeal. And of course not to mention the health benefits of it. Kale chips are great too, but they’re so darn easy to over cook which just completely ruins them. Ilya

Reply

Jen @JuanitasCocina January 14, 2013 at 5:05 pm

I wanna palooza please!

Reply

Dorothy January 14, 2013 at 5:44 pm

Jen,
If you ever come to L.A., you let me know!

Reply

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