Chopped Kale Salad with Pecorino, Raisins, and Walnuts

Smitten Kitchen is one of my favorite food blogs (other than NPC of course).  Deb is amazing.  She takes amazing pictures and has great recipes that I can relate to and really enjoy.  Not to mention, she does all of this amazing work in a tiny little NYC kitchen.  I can only hope that NPC will be where Smitten Kitchen is one day! 

While scrolling through recipes for Easter, I came across a kale salad that just looked delightful!  I needed at least one dish that was “atypical” for Easter and was sure to please since I was hosting for about 12 other people that day.  After all, my NPC reputation is always on the line!  This chopped kale salad turned out to be a hit…and I even earned a “fancy” label J  Go figure!  I’ll take that any day!

Chopped Kale Salad with Pecorino, Raisins, and Walnuts

½ c walnut pieces

¼ c golden raisins

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp water

¼ c panko

1 tiny clove garlic, minced or pressed

kosher salt

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 bunch Tuscan kale

2 oz pecorino (ground in food processor)

½ lemon, juiced

black pepper

Toast walnuts in a dry skillet over low-medium heat, tossing occasionally.  Let cool.  In a small saucepan over low heat, simmer white wine vinegar, water, and raisins for 5 mins, until plump and soft.  Set aside in liquid.

Toast breadcrumbs and garlic in a skillet together over low-medium heat with a pinch of salt until golden.  Set aside. 

Note: Garlic will be fragrant once it is properly toasted.  However, garlic burns quickly and turns rancid.  Be sure to stir constantly to prevent burning.

Trim heavy stems off kale and remove ribs.  Add kale to bowl of food processor and pulse a few times until chopped.

Modification: Chopping the kale is one of the changes I made to the original recipe.  I decided to chop in a food processor because it literally takes a few seconds to do.  Also, since kale is so bitter, it helps to get small bites of kale with the other salad ingredients for an amazing combo that isn’t overpowering.

Put kale in a large bowl.  Add pecorino, walnuts and raisins.  Add olive oil and lemon juice and toss until all the kale is coated.  Taste and adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and leftover vinegar mixture from raisins.  (I used all of the vinegar mixture.)  Let sit for at least 10 mins before serving.  Top with breadcrumbs just before serving.

Crab and Kale Manicotti

Today was a day of experimenting.  I was having a hard time figuring out what I wanted for dinner so I started scanning through my recipes.  I came across one for cheese manicotti.  For any of you who have had cheese manicotti, it can be a somewhat “one-noted”.  At least…for me it is.  All that cheese can be a little overwhelming so I brainstormed what I wanted to add to the cheese in order to give it a deeper flavor profile and make it exactly what I wanted.  Voila!!!  Crab and kale manicotti.

I love Italian food and I love tomato-based sauces so this dish is right up my alley.  Manicotti is just as versatile as stuffed shells.   You can stuff them with anything that comes to your mind.  Really!  If you don’t like crab, try chicken or sausage.  If you would rather not have kale – try spinach.  The possibilities are endless.  Use whatever is in your refrigerator and it will come out just right.  This is a great dish to use for experimenting with different ingredients.  Let me know what you try out…but first…

Crab and Kale Manicotti

8 large manicotti shells

2 ½ c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

1c ricotta cheese

1 ½ c blanched, chopped kale

1 ½ c shredded lump crab meat

¾ c grated parmesan cheese, divided

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp crushed red pepper

½ tsp Italian seasoning

1 jar prepared marinara sauce, divided

Techinque: Blanching is a process in which you immerse food (typically a green veggie) in boiling water for a very short period of time.  Then, you remove it and submerge it in a bowl of ice water.  I used this technique for the kale to tenderize it just a tad and give it a bright green color, while still allowing it to maintain a little crunch.  Also, don't forget to remove the tough stems!

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook pasta in salted water until al dente.  Drain; rinse with cold water.  Let pasta dry on paper towels.

For filling: In a medium bowl, stir together 2c mozzarella, ricotta, kale, crab, ½ c parmesan, and spices.   Mix well using a spoon or your hands.  Using a small teaspoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with crab mixture.

Tip: I recommend using your hands for this.  If the ingredients are cold, they will not combine well with a spoon.  Dig in!

Spoon 1c marinara sauce into prepared baking dish.  The bottom of the pan should be covered but no more.  You may need to add more or less depending on what size pan you use.  Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce.  Pour more marinara sauce over top of pasta until all pasta is just covered.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.

Favorite ingredient: My favorite marinara sauce is Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara.  You don’t need to add anything and there are no preservatives.  You will know what every ingredient on the list is and that’s pretty rare with packaged foods.  I use it all the time when I need a little sauce on the side or I need a quick dinner option.

Bake manicotti for 15-20 mins.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan; bake for 5-10 mins longer.  Serve immediately.

I served this with a side salad and multigrain bread (with butter of course).  It made for a great Sunday family dinner and I took leftovers for lunch on Monday.

Flavored Kale Chips

As you all know from the Facebook page, the Duncan household is taking part in the Daniel Fast.  At the beginning of every year, my husband and I get our eating habits back on track by taking part in what I like to call the “vegan +” fast.  You are only allowed whole foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.  It’s tough, but it helps me to get creative in the kitchen – making a lot of substitutions that I wouldn’t normally make.  I try to carry some of the principles throughout most of the year, but by the time the holidays roll around, I always manage to lose all self-control.

Kale chips are my new healthy snack.  They are crispy, salty, and are a healthy alternative to potato chips.  I know, I know…they’re not like potato chips but they really are good and they get so crispy they almost melt in your mouth.  For this post, I tried two different flavors.  One of the flavor ideas was the spiced kale, which came from my cousin.  She figured that if you’re going to be healthy, why not boost your metabolism as well?  So she recommended I combine three metabolism-boosting spices: cinnamon, cumin, and cayenne pepper.  The second flavor was garlic just because I can’t resist garlic-flavored anything.  My husband liked the spiced kale chips best and I liked the garlic.  Try any spice combination you want and be sure to let us know what your favorite is!

Flavored Kale Chips

Garlic:

1 bunch kale (~ ½ bag)

1 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp garlic salt

Spiced:

1 bunch kale (~ ½ bag)

1 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Pinch salt

Preheat oven to 300F.

If using fresh kale, wash and dry very thoroughly.  Cut out thick stems and ribs.  Chop kale into large pieces.  (If using bagged kale, skip this step.)

Place kale in a large plastic bowl.  Add olive oil.  Using your hands, rub oil into the kale to make sure all surfaces are evenly covered.  Add seasoning and repeat the rubbing process.

Garlic

Spiced

Tip: Rubbing the seasoning and the oil into the kale makes it stick and evenly coats the kale.  Be sure to watch salt quantities!  Use less than what you think you would need because the salt concentrates after the kale reduces in the oven.

Place the kale pieces in a single layer, on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 300F for 20 minutes or until leaves just start to brown and are crispy.