Now I know that a salad isn’t all that sexy.
Not sexy like this, this, or this. But it’s tasty and good for you! We can’t have cake and beer every day – well I can’t. Not if I want to fit into my pants.
The first time I made a salad out of kale and quinoa it was this one from Smitten Kitchen. I’m not sure if mine is adapted from, inspired by hers, or both. Either way, both salads are good and good for you!
It’s not sexy, but it’s bright! I needed that because there is finally a light at the end the proverbial tunnel for this phase of home improvement. Woot! Heck yeah!
And yes, I have used this photo before, but isn’t it pretty? And bright? And sunny?
The kitchen wasn’t all tore up like the rest of the place, but it was seriously cluttered. At one point I had 4 big dogs and 3 big dog crates in my kitchen – not really conducive to cooking and certainly not appetizing.
So we needed something bright to commemorate the light on the horizon with minimal cooking that is fast and easy that we could eat wherever we could find a spot. (You are impressed with the quality of my run on sentence, no?)
And friends? Don’t forget to add the goat cheese like I did! 🙂
Adapted from and inspired by Smitten Kitchen
Kale, Quinoa, and Clementine Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa rinsed
- 2 cups chicken stock vegetable stock, or water
- 1 bunch kale stems removed, clean, dried and chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 clementines peeled and sectioned
- 1/2 cup dried figs chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1/2 - 1 cup of pistachios chopped
- 1 cup of goat cheese crumbled
For the Clementine Dressing
- 1 lemon juiced and zested
- 3 clementines juiced and zested
- 2 cloves garlic grated or pressed
- Pinch of basil
- 1 tablespoon agave
- 1 tablespoon Dijon
- 1 tablespoon honey
- salt and white pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
-
Combine stock and quinoa in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 20 minutes (or cook according to package directions), spread on a baking sheet and let cool
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Toss kale into a bowl and massage olive oil all over (I did this for about 5 or 6 minutes)
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Add cherries, figs, pistachios, clementines, and goat cheese
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Combine all Clementine Dressing ingredients in a Mason jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously
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Pour as much of the dressing as desired over the salad and toss to combine
Note: I forgot to add the goat cheese before I took the pictures so that’s why you don’t see any
Note: I like a lot of nuts in things so that’s why the variance in the pistachio measurement
Note: Feel free to adjust any of the ingredients to your liking and it will still be awesome!
The flavors in this salad are amazing! I am loving the dried cherry, fig and pistachio combo!
Thanks Mariah! We liked it!
Now we’re talking. This is definitely something I will try. Very healthy and easy. That works for me. Thanks!
Good! You can leave out the goat cheese on purpose for a dairy free version – unlike me who just plain forgot!
This looks amazing! I love all the flavors in here and can’t wait to try it.
Thanks Keri! I would love to hear how you like it!
Yum! Very few salads have me drooling, but this one did! Love the combination of flavors and hell yes for goat cheese!
LOL! Thanks Olivia!
Love everything about this salad! So happy you’re seeing the light on the horizon and commemorating with this lovely meal!
Thanks Annie! We are getting closer. How are the painting and floor projects going for you? Any light on the horizon?
That dressing sounds so delicious! I feel like I could throw that on any salad and be happy. And figs in a salad! Great idea. I need some more salad ideas now that soup season is ending, so I will definitely be trying this out.
Thanks so much Caitlin! Now that soup season is ending and salad season is starting, maybe there will be fresh figs available soon. If you try it I would love to hear how you liked it.
Love this salad! We try to salad for dinner during the week. I will be adding this in the rotation!
Thanks Jen! I hope you like it as much as we did!