Kale Salad with Pine Nuts, Parmesan and Lemon Dressing

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables . . . cooked, raw, juiced . . . I love it all! I particularly love spring kale fresh from my parents garden . . . new growth coming up from older plants left out through the winter is tender and delicious. And it’s full of vitamins A, C, K, and minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Not to mention carotenoids and flavonoids, which have many anticancer health benefits.*

In Traditional Chinese Medicine kale is considered warm and slightly bitter. It is said to strengthen the stomach, stop pain, and promote regrowth of tissue. It has been traditionally used to treat stomach or duodenal ulcers.† Its primary function of strengthening the stomach makes it a great food to eat by most people. Who doesn’t want to help improve their digestion and benefit their gastrointestinal system?

Here is my favorite way to prepare kale . . . quick, easy, and always a crowd pleaser. Whenever I go to pot-lucks, this dish is always requested!

Kale Salad with Pine nuts, Parmesan and Lemon Dressing

Serves 2
Dressing:
1 small garlic glove, crushed
Zest of one lemon
Juice of one lemon (usually about 1/4 cup)
Equal amounts of olive oil and lemon juice
Salt/Pepper to taste.

Salad:
5 large leaves organic kale
2 T Pine nuts
Block of good quality parmesan cheese.

Crush garlic into small mason jar and let it sit for 10 minutes. This lets health-promoting allicin to form. Add in the rest of the above ingredients and whisk together to emulsify the dressing. If your dressing tastes too bitter, add more salt as it will cut the bitter lemon flavor. This will make enough for several salads and keeps in the refrigerator for about a week.

While waiting for the garlic, prepare the salad.

Dry roast pine nuts in a skillet until slightly brown and until you start to smell that toasted/nutty smell. Use a spatula to move nuts around in the skillet and watch that they don’t burn. It can happen quickly. Cool nuts.

Wash, pat dry, and remove the large center stem from the kale leaves. Chop into small pieces. I like to use a food processor and pulse to get tiny pieces, but if you don’t want the extra clean up, hand chopping is fine.

Add kale to a serving bowl and pour dressing over it a little at a time. Mix and taste test, you want the dressing to just coat the kale. Add in pine nuts and grated fresh parmesan to taste (about 2 T). One final toss, serve and enjoy!

Modifications:

Above is the base recipe, but feel free to add other ingredients to add color and nutrition. Some of my favorite additions include:

• 1 grated carrot (love the orange color with the deep green of the kale)
• Grape tomatoes (cut in half)
• Chickpeas, or your favorite bean
• Substitute toasted almonds slivers
• If you are vegan, or watching your dairy intake (Spleen Qi deficient types, or having issues with Dampness) cut out the parmesan and add in more of the above additions.
• If you want to make a complete lunch or a great dinner, add in the following:
  Cook up quinoa in homemade vegetable stock. When done, add warm quinoa over the kale salad. Add another tablespoon of dressing on quinoa. Toss and enjoy!