Autumn Kale Salad

From the blog For Love of the Table

100 g. (scant cup) walnuts

62 g. (mounded 1/3 cup) golden raisins

4 t. each white wine vinegar and water

1/4 c. coarse fresh bread crumbs

2 t. olive oil

1 very small clove of garlic

170 g. prepared Tuscan kale (see note)

100 g. (1 c.) thinly sliced celery

2 oz. pecorino, grated medium fine (it should have some texture)

1/2 recipe Honey-Dijon vinaigrette (below)

Spread the walnuts on a small baking sheet and place in a 350° oven and toast until they begin to take on a golden color and are fragrant—about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool (if you like, toss with a small drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt). When the nuts are cool enough to handle, crumble coarsely by hand (or chop, if you prefer—I like the texture of hand crumbled walnuts). Set aside.

Place the raisins in a small saucepan with the vinegar and water. Bring to a simmer. Simmer gently for five minutes or so (until plump and soft—the liquid may or may not be fully absorbed…this is ok). Set the raisins aside (don’t drain).

Place the breadcrumbs and olive oil in a small non-stick sauté pan over moderate heat. Let the crumbs sizzle, stirring regularly with a heatproof spatula, until they are golden in color. Remove from the heat and use a microplaner to grate the garlic over the crumbs. Give them one last stir. Transfer the crumbs to a plate. Set aside.

Dress the salad: Place the kale in a large bowl along with the walnuts, raisins (with liquid), celery and pecorino. Season with freshly ground pepper. Drizzle most of the vinaigrette over and toss. Use your hands to toss the greens, massaging/rubbing the vinaigrette into the kale a bit as you toss.

Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Let the salad sit for at least 10 minutes before serving. Even better—if time allows, cover the salad, and let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. When ready to serve, toss again, adding more dressing if necessary. Mound on individual plates or in a serving bowl and scatter the toasted crumbs over all.

Serves 4 generously.

Note:

It would be nice if bunches of kale always weighed the same. Unfortunately this is not the case. I have purchased bunches that weighed barely four ounces…and some that were 2/3 of a pound or more. A third to a half pound seems to be mostly the norm. You will need at least a half pound untrimmed kale to get the 6 oz. (170 g) of trimmed greens needed for this salad. It is best to purchase two bunches (unless they are very large).
To prepare the kale, strip out the center rib. Stack the leaves and cut cross-wise in 1/2-inch ribbons. Wash well (in several changes of water) and spin dry. If not using right away, store in an airtight container with a damp paper towel.

(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette

1 T. honey

2 t. Dijon mustard

2 T. Sherry vinegar

1 t. fresh lemon juice

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 c. olive oil

In a small bowl whisk together the honey, Dijon, Sherry vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk until the salt dissolves, then slowly whisk in the olive oil until you have a nice creamy emulsion. Taste & correct the seasoning.

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As published on forloveofthetable.com