Kale Salad with Goat Cheese, Beets & Pomegranate Seeds
With the holidays approaching I wanted to share one of my favorite festive salads. Not only is it beautiful and perfect for your holiday table, it highlights some of the lovely produce that is in season this time of year. It is nourishing and colorful and very easy to throw together. I hope you enjoy it!
Kale Salad with Goat Cheese, Roasted Beets & Pomegranate
Serves 3-4 people
Ingredients:
1 bunch Kale (curly leaf or tuscan)
1 lb beets
3-4 TBSP olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt, as needed
1/4 cup goat cheese (herbed or plain)
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
2 small watermelon radish (optional)
Directions:
To roast the beets: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the beets and trim any greens or stems that may be attached. Cut 2 sheets of tin foil that will be large enough to wrap the beets together. Place washed beets on top of the tin foil and generously drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. It is okay to leave the skin on, we will be removing it after they finish in the oven. Wrap beets up in the tinfoil, like a little package, making sure that they are sealed and place on a rack in the oven or on a sheet pan in case any of the beet juice drips out of the tinfoil. Bake about 40 minutes or until beets are tender and can be easily pierced with a knife.
When the beets are cooked, remove from the oven and let cool. Once they are cool you can either place them in between 2 sheets of paper towel and rub the skin off or use a pairing knife to scrape the skin off. It should come off very easily so just a light scraping should get them peeled. Cut beets in to bite sized pieces and keep on the side until ready to use.
Remove the stems from the kale and wash and dry to remove any dirt. I normally use a salad spinner for this but you can just wash in cold water and let air dry over a kitchen towel.
Place the kale into a large bowl, add 1 tbsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the juice of a lemon and begin to massage the kale to break down some of the fibers and make it tender. You can add another tablespoon of olive oil to the kale if it seems dry. Use your fingers to break the kale into smaller pieces and massage the oil and salt into the kale leaves.
Next add the goat cheese and mix it into the kale so that is evenly dispersed. Mix in roasted beets as well. Taste for seasoning and feel free to add more lemon, salt, olive oil or goat cheese as needed.
It is now ready to be transferred to the serving bowl or plate. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and shaved watermelon radish and enjoy! This salad is best day of so if serving for a dinner party, plan to make it no more than 2 hours before eating.
