Joybee, What's for Dinner? : Warm Kale Salad

A salad made of red onions sauteed in oil and balsamic vinegar mixed with kale and topped with blue cheese, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries.

Warm Kale Salad: A salad made of red onions sauteed in oil and balsamic vinegar mixed with kale and topped with blue cheese, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries.

During the winter, when the weather is cold I don't always want a cold salad. Yeah, yeah, I know I live in Hawaii and it doesn't really get cold here but I still get chilly (60s F is cold for me). Many nights I just want something warm to eat. This salad is warm, healthy, and comforting.

Don't eat cold #salad during winter have #WarmKaleSalad [Tweet this]

Just a quick saute and this salad is ready to serve. It's really no more work than a cold salad. Just heat a pan, saute the onions in oil until soft, add vinegar and kale and toss until the kale turns bright green. Serve the salad while it's still warm topped with your favorite toppings. It's a great alternative to a traditional salad and it's hardy and delicious.

Instead of a cold #salad have Warm #KaleSalad [Tweet this]

Warm Kale Salad

Servings: 4
Cook time: under 10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup sliced red onions
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 bunch of kale stemmed, torn, and washed
*Toasted pecans or candied pecans
Blue cheese crumbles
Dried cranberries

*To toast the pecans place about 1 cup of pecan halves in a dry non-stick frying pan. Heat over medium heat, tossing and stirring frequently until darkened and fragrant. Remove from pan immediately.

Have all the ingredients out and ready because this cooks quickly.

In a large skillet, saute the onion in oil until slightly soft (to your liking...I like mine with a little crunch still).

Add the vinegar and immediately add the kale. Stir and toss well until kale is hot, bright green, and coated with the oil and vinegar. The kale should shrink a little, be slightly wilted but not thoroughly cooked, and slightly tender yet still crisp (it doesn't take long). Just experiment with cooking times worst case scenario if you cook it too long you will end up with Sauteed Kale and too short more like a kale salad both of which are still good.

Remove from the pan immediately, portion into bowls, and top with pecans, cheese, and cranberries.

Serve while it's still warm.

Makes about 4 salads.

Enjoy.