[ It’s winter let’s enjoy some kale ]
Let’s talk about our new word: winter-salad. Yes it’s winter but we still love to eat salads, because when is it not a good time to enjoy loads of veggies in a salad. I know I talked about this dish since last year, okay only 1 month ago, but here I am finally posting the recipe.
So winter-salad, the good thing about a salad is that it’s easy and quick. And winter in Holland means it’s time for kale. I do not really prefer the winter stew that is famous from Holland called “boerenkool” but I do love me some kale. So why not make a salad with kale in winter time. This salad gives you the warm comfy feel of a kale stew, but also the adventure of spices like za’atar and cumin & the sweetness of the raisins. It’s called a salad, but it’s a bit more filling than most salads, we do eat this dish for dinner. Since it has loads of protein and nutritious.
Za’atar is a spice used commonly in the Middle East cuisine, the first time I got to smell this spice blend, I fell in love with the to me new combination of Mediterranean and eastern spices. If you don’t have any za’atar at home, you can more or less recreate it by mixing together, thyme or oregano, sesame seeds & cumin. If you have sumac at home you can also add a bit of this to the dish.
Have fun with the dish & stay warm on this winter day ^_^
Quinoa kale salad with goat cheese & raisins
INGREDIENTS
- 75 gr raisins
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 150 gr kale
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of fresh garlic
- 200 gr quinoa
- 130 gr goatcheese
- 1 tsp of zatar
- 2 tsp of ground cumin
- 1 red chili pepper
- 1 tbsp of sesame seeds
- peper & salt
- optional add 5 tbsp of pumpkin paste
Start by soaking your raisins for about 30 minutes, set aside (you can also use hot water to speed up the process). Cook your quinoa while in the mean time you can chop the red chili pepper, garlic & onion. In a pan add the olive oil, chili, garlic & onion & fry on low heat, after a few minutes add in the spices, the zatar & cumin. Add some salt and pepper according to personal taste. Then add the fresh kale and stir until mixed & slightly soft. Take the pan of the heat and stir in the quinoa, raisins & goat cheese. In a separate pan on medium heat slightly brown the sesame seeds and add to the quinoa kale mixture as well.
Optional, If you choose to add some pumpkin paste, add this before you add the kale to the pan. I still had some left over pumpkin paste from a previous dish, it really goes well together.
