Massaged Kale Salad
Original recipe (found HERE) courtesy of Aarti Sequeira.
Serves: 4
Ingredients
• 1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good) stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons agave
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• Small handful sunflower seeds
Directions
1. In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.
2. In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the agave. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.
3. Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the cranberries and sunflower seeds. Toss and serve.
I've converted several kale haters to kale enthusiasts with this salad. When I made it for my friend Gary, he heckled it the whole time he was eating it…and then again when he went back for seconds. "I hate you kale!!" he bellowed. "Well, I mean usually…I hate you. Now I kinda hate that I'm liking you."
As for the rest of the party, Baked Potato Bowl 2012 went off without a hitch. Here are pictures of some of the appetizers.
For the vegans…
And the non-vegans…
I wish I had a better picture for you of the Baked Potato Bar, but I got so excited that I started gobbling…ahem….I mean serving...before I could snap one. So here is the ravaged aftermath that I tried to make look presentable:
Almost everything at the party was vegan, but you wouldn't have known it if I didn't mention it (over and over again). Amelia even said, "This is fun. It feels like you're eating food that is bad for you, but really you're not." As for the cocktails…don't have a picture of those either (I'll let you draw your own conclusions as to why). This was the drink of the day:
Blueberry Lemon Champagne
- Fill the bottom of a champagne glass with frozen blueberries.
- Then add 1/2 a glass of champagne and 1/2 a glass of lemon italian soda.
When we ran out of champagne we switched to:
Cran-rasp-straw-berry Wine
- Fill bottom of wine glass with frozen raspberries and strawberries.
- Then add1/2 glass white wine and 1/2 a glass of cranberry italian soda.
-♥ J :)
P.S. Baked potatoes take an hour to cook, so the timing for a party can be tricky. I put the appetizers and salad out first and put the potatoes in the oven 15 minutes before the guests were set to arrive. By the time everyone had settled in with a cocktail (or two..), the potatoes were ready to be served.
