A Revelation in Kale

I've been easing into the kale trend over the past year or two, throwing a few leaves into a smoothie here, roasting a few respectable kale chips there. But nothing kale-related has really blown me away until today, when I made Eat, Live, Run's recipe for kale and brussels sprouts salad. Not a combination I was expecting would be amazing, but I'm trying to open up my salad repertoire. And here's a confession - I detest brussels sprouts. I've only ever had them one way in my life that I liked, in a curry recipe a friend made once. But guess what, this recipe is great. Raw brussels sprouts, like raw broccoli, taste nothing like the cooked version. Which for me is a good thing. Shredded, crunchy veggies and roasted almonds marry nicely with a tangy yet slightly sweet dressing, and salty Spanish manchego cheese adds a further level of complexity. (I altered the original version slightly, substituting a hard Spanish manchego cheese for parmesan.)

If you've been on the fence about kale, or are looking for a salad that's a little different from the usual, make this recipe... it will definitely go into regular rotation in my household now.

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

4 cups roughly chopped kale (she calls for lacinato or "dinosaur" kale, I just used
regular
8 large, uncooked brussels sprouts, sliced extremely thin
1/3 cup roughly chopped almonds
3 heaping tablespoons freshly grated Spanish Manchego cheese or Parmesan
2 Tblsp olive oil
1 Tblsp red wine vinegar
2 squeezes honey

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Toast the roughly chopped almonds just until golden brown. Remove to cool.

Toss chopped kale and thinly sliced brussels sprouts in a large bowl. Add almonds and cheese, toss again.

For the dressing, mix together olive oil, vinegar, honey, and salt & pepper to taste in a small bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad - I only used about 2/3 of it - and mix well. Keeps up to five days in the refrigerator.

Time:

15 minutes