Kale Salad with Sweet Onions

Everyone is quick to hate on kale. “Why’s everyone so obsessed with kale?” “Kale tastes like swamp water!” kale is the reason why people can’t parallel park!” Well you know what? Kale is good and honest and won’t do you dirty like that two-faced baby spinach. Yeah spinach, you make me buy a giant bag of you, thinking its plenty. Then what do you go and do? Shrink down to nowt. Bitch, if I wanted a garnish I would have bought parsley. And forget about taking dressed spinach salad for lunch leftovers. Sludge. Kale, you always get my vote, my non-shrinking, non-soggy friend.

Method

  1. Gently toast the pine seeds and sesame seeds in a dry pan. Remove and set aside.
  2. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a pan over low-medium heat.
  3. Add the onions and cook to soften. We’re making soft caramelised onions here peeps, so no frying or browning, just softening and cooking down.
  4. After 5-10 minutes add the raisins and coconut sugar and continue caramelising over a low heat. Add the chilli and spices and mix in well. Add the balsamic vinegar and heat through. Remove pan from heat.
  5. While he onions are cooking, prep your kale. Tear the soft leaves from the hard stems, then tear or chop leaves into bite-sized pieces. Put into bowl and drizzle over the remaining olive oil. Massage the leaves to soften. This sounds weird but its basically just grabbing handfuls and scrunching them. This breaks down the cellulose, making the kale softer and sweeter and nicer to eat.
  6. Mix through the caramelised onion (this is easier with a fork), then sprinkle on the toasted seeds.

You can serve this warm or cold. I like to add the onions while they are still warm from pan which helps wilt the kale further.

TIP – save the hard stems (snigger) from the kale and add to your green smoothies.

Ingredients

  • Bunch kale (250g)
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup sultanas/raisins
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 3 teaspoons coconut sugar
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon pine seeds
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste