SWEET & SAVORY KALE SALAD

Ok, if you haven't gathered by now - I'm kind of obsessed with kale. It's hard to go back to eating 'regular' lettuce in salad, once you fall in love with hearty, flavorful kale. This salad is inspired by one I often order from a favorite local restaurant, Mt. Chalet. You might not expect this sports bar to have a world rocking kale salad, but alas, my world has been rocked! In the restaurant, I usually top the sweet and savory salad with a black bean patty, but for the sake of time and ease, I've swapped in whole beans to my recipe.

The ingredients might not sound all that exciting, but I swear, it's a killer combo. I love the play on savory, sweet and tart flavor. Earthy kale, combined with the citrusy bite from the vinaigrette, a sweet pop from the golden raisins and salty crunch from garlicy black beans. It just works!

I've written the recipe to be broken down into 4 entree size servings, so it's great to prep ahead for lunches or easy weeknight dinners.

Ingredients

Lemony Red Wine Vinaigrette 
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp hymalain sea salt
1 tsp  fresh cracked pepper

Sauteed Onions
2 sweet yellow onions
1 tbsp olive oil
Himalayan sea salt

Crispy Black Beans
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil (sub with veg stock if oil free)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
Himalayan sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

For the Salad Assembly
4 bunches lacinato kale
4 oz. quinoa (I use half a bag of Trader Joe's sprouted quinoa), cooked per the directions
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup sliced almonds


Salad Prep

Prepare quinoa per the package directions (rinse, boil in 2/1 water/veg stock ratio).

Thinly slice onions, and place in large frying pan over medium heat. Add a splash of EVOO, a few grinds of Himalayan sea salt and stir. Cook over medium heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and golden brown

Drain and rinse black beans, place in a large frying pan over medium/high heat - add a splash of oil (I used the onion pan after they were cooked - so no additional oil necessary). Toss and sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper - making sure are the beans are coated. Cook for about 10 minutes until beans are coated and crispy.

Wash, dry, remove stems and chop the kale (one bunch per entree sized serving).

Salad Assembly
for one serving

In a large bowl, place 1 bunch of chopped kale and 1/4 cup of dressing - toss to coat.

Add 1/4 of the batch each of black beans, quinoa and sauteed onions.

Top salad with 1/4 cup each of slivered almonds and golden raisins.

Toss to combine, and enjoy!