Kale Salad with Snap Peas, Shaved Fennel & Carrot and Toasted Walnuts

Snap peas just arrived at my local farmer's market. Fennel is in season and the kale and carrots are still very good. Adding them together was the inspiration for this recipe. A tasty meyer lemon vinaigrette ties the whole thing together very nicely. Enjoy with something like the nice savory, gluten-free buckwheat ~ oat ~pumpkin muffin seen in this image. (Recipe for muffin to follow soon).IMG_0707

Ingredients:

Shaving fennel

Salad:

  • 1 bunch of kale, very finely cut
  • 2 small carrots (choose the fresh ones with the greens on them), shaved
  • 1 small fennel, shaved
  • 1/2 cup of snap peas cut into small chunks
  • 1/4 cup of walnuts, toasted

Use a swiss potato peeler (by Kuhn-Rikon) to shave fennel and carrots; available at Sur La Table for under $5.00. This is a fabulous tool that you will use over and over again. Works great to peep pumpkins too! See image.

Dressing:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

    Toasting Walnuts

  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 table spoon of meyer lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of meyer lemon zest
  • salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

  1. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a bowl, whisk well.

    Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

  2. Toast walnuts in a non-stick pan (preferably cast iron), do not use oil, just slowly warm over low heat and stir to avoid burning them.
  3. Add salad ingredients, mix well, enjoy!

Serves 4, makes for a nice lunch salad, almost too much for a side dinner salad.

 

Golden Beet Salad with Arugula, Pear, Fig & Hazelnuts

Overall I am not a big fan of fruit, especially dried fruit, in a salad. Not because it doesn't taste great, but because nowadays many restaurants serve salads that really belong on the dessert menu, and  not on the " I am eating something healthy" list. So much said, this is a great salad for special occasions, such as a Sunday meal or a dinner party.

Ingredients:

  1. 1 Bartlett pear, chopped
  2. 1 large or 2 small size golden beats
  3. 3 oz - approx. 1/2 bag of arugula lettuce
  4. 6 figs, cut into small pieces
  5. 1 handful of hazelnuts, cut into halves
  6. 1.5 Tablespoons Olive oil
  7. 1 Tablespoon of regular balsamic vinegar
  8. 1 Tablespoon of white balsamic vinegar
  9. Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients

 

Preparation:

  • Heat water in a medium size pan, add whole, cleaned beets, bring to a boil and cook for 30-40 minutes until soft. You still want to get a bit of resistance when you stick a knife into the beet.
  • Put into colander in sink when done and under cold running water, just using your hands, peel the skin off the beet (works great!)
  • Cut into slices, place into bowl and sprinkle evenly with white balsamic vinegar. Cover and put in fridge to cool. Adding the vinegar to beets while they are still warm makes them absorb it and gets rid of the slightly "earthy" taste that beets can have and that some people don't like.
  • Cut hazelnuts into halves and roast in a non-stick pan - preferably cast iron - on low until slightly browned. The best way to roast nuts and seeds is to just put them into the warm pan, stir them frequently and let them roast for 3-7 minutes (depending on what nuts/seeds) DO NOT USE OIL. Nuts and seeds contain enough of there own oil to roast perfectly without added oil.
  • Cut figs into small pieces, pear into slightly larger chunks
  • Mix arugula, beets, figs, pears and hazelnuts. Add oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Looking for a quick and healthy lunch idea?

Salad

Try a different kind of salad:

  • Red and white Belgian Endive
  • Avocado
  • Cellery
  • Walnuts
  • Left over roasted Kambucha squash (check back later for an easy and delicious way to roast them)
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

All these veggies are in season and easy to find at markets and in stores.

With it I am having a bowl of miso soup (it is after all cold and rainy and the body needs something warm) as well as tofu for protein.

Bonne Appetite!