Orange, Beet, and Goat Cheese Kale Salad

It may be so 2015, but I still love a good kale salad. The individual portions keep in the fridge for a couple days, which is good because the rest of my family is sick of them.

Even though I have made them forever, unlike lettuce salads, kale salads aren't something I just wing. Tonight, I didn't have all the components to make one of my usuals (Fig and Blue cheese; Apple, Feta, and Craisin; Butternut Squash, Pomegranate, and Hazelnuts; Lentils with Apricot Preserves), so I needed to figure out a new recipe with what I had. This is when I realized I should just list the core components of a good kale salad, so I can refer to it here whenever I have a hankering. Below are the basic components, which I then used to create the orange, beet, and goat cheese salad recipe below:

Dressing

1/4 c good quality olive oil (FAT)

1/4 c whatever fruit type preserve you would like (I have done apricot/fig preserves, blueberry jam, and orange marmalade) (FRUITY)

3 T  acid (I have done apple cider vinegar, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice--I did orange juice once, but didn't love the results) (ACID)

1/2 t kosher salt

Whisk ingredients together.

Kale

1 bunch lacinato kale, washed, dried, and chopped (lacinato is less bitter, but curly works too)

The key is you want to massage the dressing you just made into the kale. It makes the kale tender, and I think it gets rid of some of the bitterness. Set aside

Other salad components

2 c 1 inch chunks of a sweet fruit or vegetable--how's that for vague? (I have done pear, apple, oranges, roasted beets, roasted butternut squash, roasted sweet potatoes)

2 c of another sweet fruit or veg (optional--favorite combos include apple + sweet potato/butternut squash, orange  + roasted beets)

1/2 thinly sliced red onion

I massage the kale first, chop these items, then, add them in with the kale and toss until everything is covered in that lovely sweet dressing.

Right before you serve the salad top individual portions with

1 c small morsels of fruit (pomegranate, blueberries dried or fresh, sliced fig, dried cranberries, currents)

1/2 c roasted nuts (pecans, walnuts, pistachios, almonds)

as much cheese as you like (feta, blue cheese, gruyere, goat cheese)

In the past, I have added a cup of cooked and cooled garbanzo beans, lentils, or quinoa, but lately, that feels like more trouble than it's worth.

Using this basic template, here's what I made tonight:

Orange, Beet, and Goat Cheese Kale Salad

Dressing

1/4 c good quality olive oil 

1/4 c orange marmalade

3 T  apple cider vinegar

1/2 t kosher salt

Whisk ingredients together.

Kale

1 bunch lacinato kale, washed, dried, and chopped (lacinato is less bitter, but curly works too)

The key is you want to massage the dressing you just made into the kale. It makes the kale tender, and I think it gets rid of some of the bitterness. Set aside

Other salad components

3 roasted beets, cooled and diced

4 oranges with segments cut out

1/2 thinly sliced red onion

1 shelled pomegranate

I massage the kale first, chop these items, then, add them in with the kale and toss until everything is covered in that lovely sweet dressing.

Top individual portions with

1 oz goat cheese crumbled

2 T toasted pistachios

Serve immediately.