Kale and Purple Vegetable Salad —and a Robin’s Nest
It must be spring, and heading straight into summer, because I’m craving salad. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t eat salad the rest of the year. In fact, we eat salad at home every day. What I mean is that I’m craving colorful, crunchy, large salads as the main dish. And that kind of craving usually comes to me in
spring and summer. It must be mother nature, always wise, trying to prepare our bodies for the hot temperatures and lighter clothing; the same mother nature that brings us sounds and sights that were dormant during the winter. I notice them, of course, but I am remembering now a visit from my sister Paula, a city girl (if in a coastal city), who complained after her first night at our house that she couldn’t sleep because the birds were waking her up —this is the same sister that spends a few months every year in New York City, where the sirens of ambulances and police cars is the sound of the night!
This morning, as I was leaving the house, something caught my eye: a robin flying out of the holly bush next to our side door. The bird was chirping, and flying around, not going very far —in fact, resting and chirping and watching from a neighboring budding tree. I didn’t think much of it, but when I got back home an hour later, it was the same scene. Now I was intrigued. I approached the holly slowly, the robin chirping louder and louder, flying back and forth, and finally resting on the neighboring tree. It must’ve figured I wasn’t dangerous, and stopped chirping to simply watch. At first glance, I couldn’t see anything in the holly, but I was sure there was something, and kept circling, eventually pulling a few leaves apart (and remember, this is a holly, my hands were getting prickled) to discover a nest. But the biggest treasure was inside: three beautiful, bright, blue eggs, each slightly larger than a thumb. Mother nature at its best, almost an intimate moment, that suddenly made me question the consumption of eggs.
It has been a few months since I posted my first post. Let me rephrase that: it has been a few months since I introduced Mama Ía blog to the world. I need to explain it that way, because prior to that were months of work, designing and customizing the blog, learning photography, practicing, practicing, practicing, discarding a gazillion photos, cooking and shooting and tasting, building content so I didn’t “open” on day one with just one post, but with some content that might be interesting to my first visitors. After a few months “live”, I have to confess that I don’t go through my blog to check how it’s turning out. I’m too busy planning what I’ll be making, shopping for groceries, cooking and shooting, editing and writing. But maybe I should keep closer tabs on it. Just recently I was looking for a recipe of something I had made, and the easiest way to get to it was to click on the RECIPES tab on Mama Ía blog. And what a (not so good) surprise to see that I had no recipes under SALADS! That was so unlike me, who eats salad every day! If I have to find a reason, I would have to say that, in general, I don’t consider a salad really needs a recipe. Let me explain: you chop vegetables, toss them together, and add a vinaigrette. Done. But then, after greater consideration, and to be fair, that is not exactly true, and many salads require a bit more work and preparation.
I’m sharing with you today a roasted beet and kale salad, which I had to adjust to my family’s liking, therefore adding romaine lettuce and a few other vegetables, all purple, like radishes and red shallots (you guessed it, kale is not very popular with my boys, but I am slowly introducing it into their diet). This salad is beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, with a dressing based on olive oil, of course, and a few tangy ingredients like mustard and lemon. In my opinion, beets are the real star in this dish —I may be biased because I love beets (remember the Roasted Beets with Hazelnut Picada), but it is the combination of ingredients that really makes the difference: crunchy radishes, leafy greens, nutty pine nuts, slightly tender beets… Kale and purple vegetable salad, give it a try!
KALE AND PURPLE VEGETABLE SALAD
Ensalada de Kale y Verduras Moradas
Ingredients:
1/2 bunch kale
1/2 curly green romaine lettuce
2 Spring onions (white and light green parts only)
2 Beets
3 Radishes
1 medium shallot
1/4 cup pine nuts
For the dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbs honey
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Wash the beets under cold running water and place them in a saucepan. Cover them with cold water and add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil before reducing it to a simmer. Cook the beets for about 50 minutes, or longer, until you can insert the tips of a fork without resistance. Remove the saucepan from the heat, pour out the hot water and add cold water. When cool enough to handle, rub the skins of the beets off with a paper towel, or scrape them off with the side of a spoon (by now your fingertips will be purple pink). Chop the beets coarsely and reserve.
Tear the kale and romaine leaves and place them in a mixing bowl. Slice or quarter the radishes. Slice the spring onions into thin disks. Slice the shallot lengthwise into thin slices. Toast the pine nuts: at low heat, in a frying pan, shaking the pan occasionally so the nuts don’t burn, 5 to 6 minutes or until golden. Set aside.
Make the dressing
Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix.
Add about half of the dressing to the bowl with the kale and romaine mixture and stir to coat. Trasfer to a salad bowl. Arrange the radishes, spring onions, shallot and beets and sprinkle with a little more dressing. Sprinkle the pine nuts and serve.
