Hello foody friends, life has somewhat been on the hectic side of late and although that never effects my interest in food, I’ve been a bit remiss in putting stuff on the blog. To add to this, a few weeks ago I came home from a trip to find that my enthusiastic, pre-teen, blogging daughters had done something to rub the camera up the wrong way and it went on strike. I seem to have now managed to put a work-around in place until I can bring myself to fork out for a new one – I’m told it’s not worth having the old one fixed.
Anyway, I digress. You may have noticed that I have a bit of a soft spot for kale – this is neither the first nor the last time it features on my blog. Kale is super healthy and makes a great alternative to lettuce. I think it’s great for making salads more hearty in the cold months of the year. This recipe is another from good ol’ Claus Meyer and goes well with most meat or simply as a meal in itself.
Salad
200g kale
5 ripe (but firm) pears
100g mild and creamy blue cheese
60g walnuts, roughly chopped
lemon juice
cider vinegar
sugar
sea salt
cold-pressed rapeseed oil
Dressing
50ml cold-pressed rapeseed oil
3 dessertspoons cider vinegar
1 dessertspoon honey
1 clove garlic, chopped
sea salt
black pepper
Place the kale leaves in cold water to freshen and crispen them up. Heat the oven to 180° C (350° F). Wash the pears, cut into quarters and remove the cores. Slice three of the pears into long, thin pieces and set aside. Cut the remaining two pears into ‘boats’ and toss them in a little cider vinegar, sugar, salt and oil. Spread them on a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until they are soft and golden. Leave the pears to cool.
To make the dressing, blend the ingredients in a bowl.
Slice the kale thinly and cut the blue cheese into small cubes. Toss the kale with the dressing, blue cheese and both the raw and the cooked pears. Season with salt and pepper. Add a little sugar should you think the salad needs to be sweetened slightly. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top and serve.
