You’ll thank me for this recipe. I hope.
Even if you don’t like kale or are over it.
It’s more or less a knock-off of Whole Foods’ lemon kale soofoo salad, but made with quinoa, though feel free to sub soofoo, which is a mix of brown rice and grains. Soofoo is not easy to find, but it’s around.
The first time I had this salad from Whole Foods I fell in love with it. It’s tart from both lemon
and feta, crunchy from chopped nuts, a little bitter from the kale, and a touch sweet from dried cranberries.
The price is hard to take, though. In these parts it’s $8.99 a pound.
No. Just, no.
Here I’m giving you a very respectable copycat recipe, but this version calls for you to work
the kale over a little to make it less bitter and less overpowering. You know what I
mean. Kale isn’t known for subtlety.
This salad is about brightness and doesn’t swim in dressing, so proceed
accordingly if you alter the recipe. Don’t use too much oil. You don’t want to have to serve it with a slotted spoon, nor with an ice cream scoop. It should be a bit on the dry side.
Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
- 1 bunch organic curly kale
- ½ tsp Himalayan pink or fine kosher salt
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp organic sugar
- Few shakes ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup chopped feta
- 3 c cooked, cooled quinoa*
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Fresh lemon juice to taste, but at least ¼ cup
*To make 3 c quinoa you need 1 c quinoa and 2 c water. Rinse the quinoa well and add to saucepan with the water and bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer slowly, with lid off, until all the water has been absorbed. Turn off flame, cover and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Take off lid, fluff and allow to cool.
- Prepare your washed and dried kale by removing large stems and tearing or cutting leaves into pieces no more than a couple of inches square, or into strips about an inch wide. Place kale pieces into a large salad bowl and toss with the salt. Rub salt into the kale well and massage so as to break some of the cell walls. Next, pound the kale a bit with the end of a wooden spoon. Set aside for 45 minutes. Toss well with the oil, sugar and pepper. Set aside for another 30 mins. Kale should be somewhat softened and wilted, but still have some life left.
- Toss pecans, cranberries, feta and quinoa into prepared kale.
- Add lemon zest and juice and toss.
- Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.