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Recipe: Kale With Bacon Dressing, Wild Rice Salad

November 12, 2014 at 9:13PM

credit Jesse Eustis Kale Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing. From "Eat for Equity" cookbook (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Kale With Bacon Dressing

Serves 8.

Note: If you're not already on the kale bandwagon, you will be after tasting this dish. It's a recipe that requires almost no cooking, since the warm bacon dressing lightly wilts the kale. From Emily Torgrimson in the downloadable "Thanks&Giving/ Community Feasts for a Cause." The recipe, as it appears in the e-cookbook, offers proportions for 8, 20 and 50 servings.

• 6 slices uncooked bacon

• 1/2 c. julienned red onion

• 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

• 1/2 c. water

• 2 tsp. coarse-grained mustard

• 2 tsp. sugar

• 2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

• 1 lb. green kale

Directions

Sauté bacon in large skillet over medium heat until brown, about 10 minutes. Drain bacon on a paper towel and set aside.

Add red onion to the bacon drippings and sauté 7 minutes over medium heat. Whisk in apple cider vinegar, ½ cup water, mustard, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer until mixture is reduced by about a third, about 10 to 20 minutes. The dressing can be prepared in advance.

Meanwhile, prepare the kale by washing, de-stemming and then tearing into bite-size pieces. You can de-stem kale quickly by pinching your fingers together around the stem, and pulling toward you. A few minutes before serving, mix the warm dressing with kale, then crumble the bacon on top.

Wild Rice Salad

Serves 8.

Note: This salad — multiplied a few times — was served to 5,000 people at the New York Food & Wine Festival. It's quick to make when hand-harvested wild rice is used (which cooks in about 20 minutes; commercial wild rice takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour; you'll know it's cooked through when the wild rice kernels open up). From Emily Torgrimson in the downloadable "Thanks&Giving/ Community Feasts for a Cause." The recipe, as it appears in the e-cookbook, offers proportions for 8, 20 and 50 servings.

• 1 1/2 c. uncooked wild rice

• 2 1/2 c. uncooked brown rice

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

• 1 tsp. dried marjoram

• 1 tsp. dried basil

• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

• Salt and pepper

• 3/4 c. olive oil

• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar

• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans

• 1 bunch green onions, sliced diagonally

• 1/2 c. dried cranberries

• 4 c. spinach, sliced into a wide chiffonade

Directions

To prepare the wild rice and brown rice: Cook them in separate pots, according to package directions, since they have different cooking times. Cook wild rice with as much water as you like, planning to drain off the water when the rice is cooked. Cook brown rice with a 1-2 rice-to-water ratio. Try to cook rice so that it is tender, but with a little bit of pull — and not so well done that the kernel splits completely. If you are making this for a crowd, cool the rices by spreading them out on cookie sheets; this prevents the rice from clumping.

To prepare the dressing: Whisk together garlic, marjoram, basil and mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to taste, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Pour the dressing over the rice when rice is at room temperature or slightly cooled. The salad can keep at this stage overnight, and it helps the flavors meld. Store refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap.

To assemble: The day of the feast, add the pecans, green onions, cranberries and spinach. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories600Fat28 gSodium216 mg

Carbohydrates80 gSaturated fat4 gCalcium59 mg

Protein11 gCholesterol0 mgDietary fiber10 g

Diabetic exchanges per serving: 4 bread/starch, 1½ other carb, 5½ fat.