Red,White,& Green? Grilled Kale Salad

Happy Independence Day America! Although, I did think about it today... wouldn't we sound great walking around with British accents? Saying cheerio instead of goodbye and such. Yeah... probably not, but still it would be cool. I digress. England is great. America is great. Now let's eat some hot dogs and celebrate being American!

Clearly, red,white, and blue are America's colors. While this Kale salad is red, white, and blue green, I figured it was a cute play on words. Have you tried kale yet? If you haven't, you should. It is a super food! It is full of antioxidants, has a ton of fiber and vitamins and naturally detoxifies your body. It is great raw, but in this recipe you grill it! It gets super crunchy and nutty. Obviously that is our green. The red comes from thinly sliced red onion and nectarines. These are both super sweet and it is a nice contrast to the kale. And the white... of the white. It is my favorite salad accompaniment, goat cheese! The dressing of this salad is simple. Some luscious olive oil and tart balsamic. 

This salad is literally a party in your mouth. Plus, it is so much more exciting than a regular ole salad. This would also be delicious and easy to serve to guests. I used a recipe from Bon Appetit magazine and changed it a bit. The recipe calls for ricotta, but I used goat cheese instead. Either would be delicious!

 Grilled Kale Salad

So Colorful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 3 medium plums, halved, pitted, thinly sliced
• 12 large curly kale leaves
• 1/8 cup goat cheese

Preparation

• Whisk 3 Tbsp. oil, vinegar, thyme, and honey in a medium bowl. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. Add plums and toss to coat; transfer plums to a plate.
  
  
• Heat your grill to medium low. Brush kale leaves with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; season with salt. Grill kale, turning once, until crispy and charred at edges, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a work surface; let stand until cool enough to handle. Remove large center stems with a knife and discard (just trim the tough ends from smaller, more tender kale stems.)
  
  
• Tear larger kale leaves into pieces (leave smaller leaves whole). Place leaves in a large bowl and toss with some of the vinaigrette. Divide leaves among plates. Top with plums, goat cheese and drizzle some vinaigrette over.