Collard Salad

Photo by Jill Richards Photography

I have to admit I didn't think I would ever see the two words "collard" and "salad" smooshed together as if they actually "go" together. But then I made what is best described as collard salad for dinner this week, and I don't know why they haven't been put together at my house before now.

A friend suggested the idea to me, so I went with it, because I got a nice bunch of fresh, local, organic collards at the market this week. Try for yourself and see!

Take fresh collards, cut away the stem, fold leaves in half and stack 4 or 5 on top of each other. Now roll the leaves into a fat "cigar" and slice across, making long strips. I cut them fairly close together to make really thin strips. Submerge in water (a salad spinner with colander works best for this part)  and let soak while preparing other parts of the salad. This will plump up the leaves, as well as remove any dirt.

While the collards soaked, I investigated what I had on hand to go with them. Here's the list of things I threw in a bowl:

• roasted beets (click here for simple instructions)
• toasted pumpkin seeds
• grated fresh parmesan cheese
• the best vinaigrette going--Roasted Shallot (click here for the recipe), which I had leftover from the holidays (I used dried herbs, and it's held up nicely)

After gathering these ingredients, I drained the collards, spun the extra water off, and tossed it all together. Quite delicious, quick, and a nice addition to my kitchen. Enjoy!

Tomato Raspberry Vinaigrette

A chef friend shared this amazing recipe with me recently. Heavenly for summer tomatoes.

1. Take a sheet pan and cover the bottom with a very thin layer of olive oil.  Place the pan in the oven (350 degrees pre-heated) and let the pan warm up for about 3 minutes.
2. Carefully place 6-7 ripe red tomatoes on the pan in the olive oil cut into halves.  Remove the stem from the top of tomatoes beforehand. 
3. Lightly salt and pepper the tomatoes to taste.  Pour raspberry vinegar on the top of the tomatoes (and onto the pan).  No more than 1 cup of vinegar is needed.
4. When the tomatoes have roasted, the skin will begin to darken and separate from the tomatoes.  Roast until the tomato has cooked through to the middle. 
5. Pull pan out of oven and let rest for 10 minutes (to cool).
6. Pinch the tomato peel off (this should be fairly easy since the peel has separated from the juicy middle).  Take the now peel-less roasted tomatoes and place them in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until fully incorporated (until fully reduced to sauce-like consistency). 
7. Add fresh basil strips and sea salt and pepper to taste. 

For my husband's birthday, I layered brown rice, garlic sauteed spinach, and baked chicken. I poured the vinaigrette over the top, added some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and basil strips. OMG--now, it's a birthday classic.

This week, I used it to make a pasta sauce by adding it to some local ground sausage, onions, garlic, and spinach. Again, super yummy.

Tonight, I plan to make an egg scramble with it. I also plan to scavenge for tomatoes the next couple of weeks, make this recipe in quantity, and freeze it to get me through the winter. Oh, I will be so in love with myself in December!