Recipe: White Bean and Kale Salad

  First of all, I need to apologize to Maggie from Dog Hill Kitchen.  I found her recipe for her White Bean and Kale salad on FoodBuzz, and I decided I needed to make it.  Unfortunately, I screwed it up in a few places.  While I'd decided to post my adaptations of other bloggers' recipes as my evening posts with a link to the recipe I used, in this case I think I made enough changes that I really need to post it as a recipe of its own to have the posting make any sense at all.  I am going to link to her original post, though, because it's a great recipe.  It may be the ultimate "easy" recipe in that you make it well ahead of time, and it is even better as leftovers the day after you make it.  Not only that, but it's healthy and filling, too!  So thank you, Dog Hill Kitchen. 

 

Secondly, while I really liked the look of Maggie's recipe and will probably make it right someday, I was actually pretty happy with my adaptation.  Like the original, it was tasty, healthy, filling and made great leftovers.  Basically, I changed it in two ways: I used the grill, and in my vague and not-very-scientific attempt to halve the recipe I changed a lot of the proportions.  I used the grill to roast the red peppers because it gave me an excuse to be outside, and since it was already on I decided to cook the kale on it as well.  The leaves did singe a little bit, but not enough to have a huge impact on the final salad. 

 

White Bean and Kale Salad (serves 4 as a side dish, approx. $2.15/serving)

2 red bell peppers

1 head red kale, washed but not dried

2 15-oz cans Great Northern beans, drained and well rinsed

Juice of 2 lemons

Equipment:

• Grill or barbeque
• Paper bag

1. Heat the grill to high. 
2. Place the red peppers on the grill and roast until the skins are blackened.  You will need to turn them to ensure that they are evenly toasted.
3. Evacuate the peppers to the paper bag and fold shut.
4. Place the kale on the grill and wilt it.  This will happen very quickly, so keep a close eye on it! 
5. When you have finished grilling the kale, you are done with the grill, so you can go ahead and turn it off or extinguish the fire.
6. Put the drained beans into a bowl. 
7. When the kale is cool enough to handle, remove any stems that are still tough and roughly chop the leaves.  Add them to the bowl.
8. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove them from the paper bag.  The skins will come off easily.
9. Cut the peppers into strips.  Add them to the bowl. 
10. Add the lemon juice and mix well. 
11. Allow the mixture to rest.  The salad should be served at room temperature, so you can make this well ahead of time.  If you need to make it far enough in advance that you need to refrigerate it, let it come up to room temperature before serving. 

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