For the last year or so, almost every time I needed to make and bring a meal to a #postpartum family or to a potluck, I have made the following #salad, always with rave reviews!
It has become just the thing that I do. I do not have an official #recipe (I am terrible at not following them and not writing things down), but I have attempted to describe the process here.
And it *IS* a salad, so it is kind of hard to mess up — at least, in my world.
Cheese* Tortellini and Kale Salad
For the massaged kale part:
very large bunch of kale (green and Russian red make for the best, but “dinosaur” or Tuscan can work)
olive oil (or avocado oil)
sea salt
lemon juice (lime could be fun too)
For the veggies & toppings:
sweet bell peppers (skip the green bells, because this salad wants colour!)
red onion, scallions, or shallots
heirloom baby tomatoes (halved or quartered, depending on size)
sliced Castelvetrano olives (or black olives)
goat milk feta (or Parmigiano-Reggiano or no cheese or vegan cheese)
julienned shiitake mushrooms
sliced hearts of palm
pine nuts, sliced almonds, or crushed walnuts (or no nuts)
sliced or cubbed avocado
anything you want, just make it fun, colourful, and nutritious
For the tortellini:
cheese tortellini (or vegan tortellini)
*if tortellini isn’t an option for whatever reason stand-ins could be:
cubbed tofu (baked or marinated is better)
cubbed seitan
cubbed chicken/turkey/salami
non-filled pasta in fun shapes (farfalle or “bow tie” is a fave)
For the dressing:
I like Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette or Champaign Vinaigrette, but anything that sounds good to you!
Directions:
Rip up your kale into manageable to eat pieces. Put kale, a sprinkling of salt, healthy dose of oil, and juice of about half a lemon into a large bowl. Then massage the kale, mixing everything together, for about 2 to 4 minutes.
Next you can add your veggies and toppings or let the massaged kale sit, covered, in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. It gets better if left at least 8 hours, in my opinion.
Cook your tortellini and cool it. It can be cooked the day before and stashed in the fridge. You will want to mix it with some oil and/or some of your dressing so it doesn’t become a giant clump in the fridge.
Mix your veggies, toppings, tortellini, and dressing all up.
EAT!
If you liked this post or found this post informational or useful, please share it. If you want to recognise my labour and support me in creating future posts like this one, please leave me a tip.
Comments