Tag Archives: healthy salads

Winter Crunch and Wheat Berry Salad

Happy New Year! Hope everyone survived the holidays. We had lots of family time over at the saltandserenity homestead, which explains why you have not heard from me since December 19! We managed to consume most of the cookies I posted about last month and I made latkes twice. All in all, a very delicious month.

As is customary around here, the first post of the new year is something healthyish, emphasis on the “ish”. Let’s start with the crunch. Of course we have the obligatory vegetable crunch, provided by raw kale, Brussels sprouts and sugar snap peas. Walnuts add supplemental crunch and a slight bitterness, which I have recently learned to appreciate. If you’re not into them, pecans or hazelnuts would be great. Just DON’T FORGET to toast them.

Apples provide a sweet-tart crunch. I found some Cosmic Crisp apples to use in my salad. If you see them, grab them! A cross between the Enterprise and Honeycrisp apple, Cosmic Crisps are out of this world crunchy and juicy and a bit more tart than Honeycrisps. They are excellent in salads as they are slow to brown.

The final crunch in this salad is provided by coarse homemade breadcrumbs. I took some stale sourdough bread, cut it into cubes and tossed it liberally with extra virgin olive oil and salt. I toasted them in a moderate oven until browned, and then crushed the croutons into coarse crumbs. That way, each bite of salad has some of this delicious crunch. They are also excellent in soups.

The addition of wheat berries make this salad a nutritional powerhouse. They are a whole grain and are packed with fiber, protein and iron. If you have never tried them, you will love their chewy texture and nutty taste.

We’re not going overboard with healthy. Baby steps here. There is cheese in this salad, Pecorino Romano, to be specific. The delicate funk and rich tangy flavour of pecorino is a perfect foil for the sweet apple and the bitter greens.

Roasted Squash and Kale Salad with Sumac Vinaigrette

Oscar Wilde once said, “I am not young enough to know everything.” As I age, I have learned to not rule out any possibilities. Kale is a perfect case in point. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that I used to be a kale hater. Turns out, I was wrong. I just didn’t understand kale. Much like some people, kale is tough and needs a bit of massaging to coax out her very best qualities.

I recently had a kale salad at Mudtown Flats, in Owen Sound that blew me away and changed my mind about kale salads. I came home and immediately set about trying to recreate it. I think I nailed it. I urge you to give it a try.

Seek out Tuscan Kale (also known as Lacinato Kale or Dinosaur Kale or Cavalo Nero/Black Kale). It is a bit more tender than the curly variety and the flavour, while still quite earthy, has an almost nutty sweetness. The first step is to remove the tough stems.

Next, I’m going to give you the opportunity to practice your knife skills and ask you to slice the leaves as thin as you can. Remember to tuck your fingers under and away from the knife.

Next, treat the kale to a good sprinkling of kosher salt and get your hands in there to gently massage the leaves. I learned this trick from Mark Bittman. Did you guys know he recently started an online food magazine called Heated?  It’s illuminating, highly entertaining and very well written.

The salt, combined with the massaging action, helps to break down the cell walls of the kale and make it more tender. Rub the kale leaves together between your fingers, only until it  starts to wilt. It will only take a minute or two. Let it sit while you get on with the rest of the salad.

As in choosing a life mate, what you choose to pair with the kale is an important decision. Squash is an excellent partner. The sweetness of squash is the perfect foil for kale’s slighly bitter edge.

Cut the squash into little cubes, give it a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in a hot oven until the edges get all brown and crispy.

With every salad I compose, I aim for contrast in both flavour and texture. Kale and walnuts are slightly bitter. Squash and golden raisins will balance the bitterness perfectly.

Crunch comes from toasted pumpkin seeds and walnuts. Walnuts are another ingredient I used to hate. Again, I didn’t really understand how and when to use them. They must be very well toasted or they will taste very mealy and unpleasant.

I added some feta cheese for creaminess and salt. If you can find Bulgarian feta, give it a try. It has a creamier texture than Greek feta. Check out this post if you’re a cheese geek and keen to learn about the differences between all the different styles of feta.

Sumac, a dried middle-eastern spice, adds a liveliness and lemony kick to this vinaigrette. It’s becoming more widely available and you’ll find yourself using it in dry rubs or marinades for chicken lamb, fish and vegetables as well as a finishing spice for humus and other dips and spreads. This astringent and tangy spice is very versatile.

Kale Kamut Salad with Avocado Dressing

In the 549 posts I have written for this blog, only one, thus far, has contained kale. This will be the second. This scarcity of kale recipes is not by accident. I just didn’t think I liked kale. it was tough and bitter and swallowing it scratched the back of my throat.

Apparently, I was doing it all wrong. I was buying curly kale, and using it raw, in salads. Curly kale is best for blending into smoothies or sauteeing, stews and soups, where the heat can mellow it’s bitter bite.

For eating raw, Tuscan Kale (aka Lacinato Kale or Dinosaur Kale or Cavalo Nero/Black Kale) is a better choice. It is a bit more tender than the curly variety and the flavour, while still quite earthy, has an almost nutty sweetness. You need to remove the stems, slice it quite thin and let it sit in the dressing for about half an hour before serving. That will help to tenderize it.

Kamut is an ancient wheat grain, likely originating in Iran. It is reminiscent of farro, but a bit larger in size. It has a firm and chewy texture and a rich buttery flavour. it is nutritional powerhouse. High in fiber, protein, zinc and magnesium, kamut is a fantasic addition to soups and salads. I love the Bob’s Redmill brand, which is available in most healthfood stores , or online.

This salad was inspired by and adapted from the “Berkeley Brussels Salad” from pbs.org. You can customize the salad to include what ever is in season and looks good at the market that day. I added some spring onions and radishes, thinly sliced raw Brussels sprouts and some julienned radicchio. If you’re making it as a main course salad, cheese is always a welcome addition. I used manchego, a Spanish sheeps milk cheese. Don’t forget the crunch. I added toasted pumpkin seeds.

The creamy avocado based dressing makes more than you will need, but it keeps well in the fridge for about a week. It’s delicious as a sauce for frilled fish, chicken or vegetables.

Click here to print recipe for

Pickled Apple Slaw

3-bowls-of-slawHappy New Year! Hope everyone filled up on lots of cookies and family time over the holidays. Did anyone make any New Year’s resolutions? I must admit, resolutions kind of scare me. I always end up being so disappointed in myself. But, I’m going to go out on a limb here and make two resolutions.

1. I feel like I should probably give up my favourite potato chips for just a little while. (How’s that for a definitive statement?) WAIT! I take that back. Perhaps I should just take baby steps here. OK, I resolve to fill my little portion control bowl to the rim with chips, rather than to overflowing! A much more realistic and achievable goal.

2. I resolve to drink more Prosecco. Yes, I said more. Breaking news folks! Prosecco is actually good for you. 

If early January is too soon for you to start pickling your liver, how about pickling apples? I first read about pickling apples over on seriouseats.com. Daniel Gritzer featured a recipe for Beet and Wheat Berry Salad with Pickled Apples and Pecans. To date, I have only pickled onions, shallots, cucumbers and carrots. Pickled apples intrigued me. I love the addition of apples in slaw, but you need to cut them just before serving or they turn brown. Pickling solves that problem.

This slaw packs in a ton of vegetables, which, if you’re like me, I try to do every January to help cleanse my system after my December gluttony. This recipe does not feel like deprivation at all. The choice of vegetables is up to you. These are what looked good to me when I went to the market.

I started with a base of red and green cabbage.cutting-cabbgeI love the crunch and verdant freshness of sugar snap peas, so they went in next. sugar-snap-peasI thought that the flavour of celery would really complement the apples, so I bought some celeriac (also known as celery root). It’s the ugly knoby, hairy root you always see and wonder about. A few stalks of celery would be a good substitute if you can’t find celeriac.celeriacJust peel and slice it into a julienne. Put it in a bowl of water with a bit of lemon juice to keep it from turning brown before adding to the salad. celeriac-cutI decided to pickle shallots, along with the apples.apples-and-shallots Combine apple cider vinegar, water, sugar, salt and some mint sprigs in a small pot. Simmer until salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour hot pickling brine over apples and shallots and then place bowl in an ice bath to cool quickly. chilling-pickling-liquidA simple cider vinaigrette, with a touch of dijon and honey is the perfect dressing for this slaw. Finish with some diced or sliced jalapeños, fresh mint and some toasted pecans for crunch. Your digestive system will thank you.

Any leftovers will keep well for a day or two in the fridge. I added some diced hardboiled eggs and julienned gruyere cheese the next day for a lunch salad. It was bonkers good!composed-salad

Click here to print recipe for Pickled-Apple-Slaw.

slaw-in-black-bowl