Is there anything better than garden fresh produce?
My new best friend is Ron, the produce man at our local grocery store. We’ve laughed over lettuce, shared stories over strawberries, and, most recently, we’ve bonded over beets. After an intense conversation about kale one day, he leaned over and, in a whisper, asked if I liked beets. “Heck yes,” I replied. He told me they were golden beets, not the regular red ones, and I got even more excited. I let him know I had always wanted to try golden beets and, sure enough, on my next trip to the grocery store my vegetable Santa Claus brought me purple carrots, heirloom tomatoes and, of course, golden beets. What made them even more special is that they didn’t come from the store, they came from his own garden. Touched at his generosity, I brought him this salad. It’s a new favourite that’s on the lighter side but it’s bursting with the flavour of sweet and earthy raw golden beets, juicy and tangy blueberries, crunchy pecans, and sweet lemony kale.
GOLDEN BEET AND BLUEBERRY KALE SALAD
Simple, fresh, quick and light.
Ingredients
Serves one as a light meal or two as a starter or side. Substitute normal red beets if you can’t find golden beets.
2 cups kale, torn
1 small golden beet
2-3 tbs whole pecans
1/4 cup blueberries
1 tbs sunflower oil
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey or agave
Method
Gently rinse the blueberries and then wash, peel and then julienne the golden beet.
The golden beet matchsticks add a sweet earthy crunch to this salad.
Wash and tear kale into bite sized pieces, discarding the stems. Place kale in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
Whisk together the oil, lemon juice and honey/agave and then pour over kale. Toss the kale to coat with dressing and then use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale for 4-5minutes (see pictures below). Set aside.
Before the dressing.
After massaging the dressing on the kale.
To plate, pile kale in centre of a plate or bowl. Scatter the julienned golden beet around the edge of the kale. Top with blueberries and pecans. Serve immediately.
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