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HALF 'N HALF KALE SALAD WITH SCALLIONS AND MAPLE
03/07/19 — Heydon Hatcher
Recipe and Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley
This recipe is my all-time favorite way to prepare kale. I love getting the health benefits of raw kale while also enjoying the crispy, smoky bits from marrying the two.
Here, charred kale cooks down to about half its original mass. When it is added to the bowl with the raw kale, the uncooked half is ever-so-slightly steamed by the hot kale, offering what looks like a smaller yield overall— a.k.a. the most flavorful way to put two times the kale into my body in just one sitting. The trick to charring kale is making sure it is dry when it goes into the pan and leaving it alone for longer than you think you should before stirring it. This version features chopped scallions and maple syrup, but it works just as well with other alliums. The maple syrup is totally optional, but I really love the way it caramelizes in the pan, offering an alternate way to “dress” your greens.
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Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley.
In a skillet, heat olive oil or ghee until water sizzles when you add a few drops to the pan. Add half of the chopped kale and the white part of the scallions to the pan of hot oil, and stir once before leaving it alone for 3-4 minutes.
In the bowl, you will serve your salad, squeeze half a lemon over the remaining kale and sprinkle with salt. Mix the salted lemon kale and let sit while you check on the kale in the pan. Turn a big piece of kale on the edge of the skillet to see if it has achieved a crispy brown bottom. If it hasn’t, give it another minute or two before stirring.
Once the kale is ready to stir, leave it again for another few minutes so the rest of it can crisp in the pan. When all of the kale has reached almost maximum crisp factor, pour the maple syrup into the pan and cook on high stirring often, until it has evaporated... about 30 seconds. Maple candied kale, yeah!
Transfer the charred kale to the bowl with the raw kale, and let it sit for a minute or so before you stir it all together. This allows the steam to evaporate from the hot kale before you stir it into the kale underneath, which slightly wilts the raw kale with lemon juice before tossing it together.
This recipe is my all-time favorite way to prepare kale. I love getting the health benefits of raw kale while also enjoying the crispy, smoky bits from marrying the two.
Here, charred kale cooks down to about half its original mass. When it is added to the bowl with the raw kale, the uncooked half is ever-so-slightly steamed by the hot kale, offering what looks like a smaller yield overall— a.k.a. the most flavorful way to put two times the kale into my body in just one sitting. The trick to charring kale is making sure it is dry when it goes into the pan and leaving it alone for longer than you think you should before stirring it. This version features chopped scallions and maple syrup, but it works just as well with other alliums. The maple syrup is totally optional, but I really love the way it caramelizes in the pan, offering an alternate way to “dress” your greens.
Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley.
- Two bunches of kale
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- Juice from a whole lemon
- Salt
- About two tablespoons of maple syrup
In a skillet, heat olive oil or ghee until water sizzles when you add a few drops to the pan. Add half of the chopped kale and the white part of the scallions to the pan of hot oil, and stir once before leaving it alone for 3-4 minutes.
In the bowl, you will serve your salad, squeeze half a lemon over the remaining kale and sprinkle with salt. Mix the salted lemon kale and let sit while you check on the kale in the pan. Turn a big piece of kale on the edge of the skillet to see if it has achieved a crispy brown bottom. If it hasn’t, give it another minute or two before stirring.
Once the kale is ready to stir, leave it again for another few minutes so the rest of it can crisp in the pan. When all of the kale has reached almost maximum crisp factor, pour the maple syrup into the pan and cook on high stirring often, until it has evaporated... about 30 seconds. Maple candied kale, yeah!
Transfer the charred kale to the bowl with the raw kale, and let it sit for a minute or so before you stir it all together. This allows the steam to evaporate from the hot kale before you stir it into the kale underneath, which slightly wilts the raw kale with lemon juice before tossing it together.
