Needless to say, this is a kale lovin’ blog. I love kale. My beloved loves me and therefore, he has to love kale by default, even though I caught him “whining” to my friends that kale is all I cook when it comes to green vegetables of late. He is such a brave man, isn’t he?
The irony is …well… hello to another kale recipe! This time I’m not tip toeing around the chlorophyllic taste kale by sautéing in garlic infused olive oil. Let’s go raw kale shall we?
I know raw kale is not everyone’s cup of tea. Let’s get rid the “raw” word as it seems to freak people out. To make raw kale tasty, I marinated it with homemade basil pesto. Let’s hope that words like “marinated” and “homemade” will make raw kale sound more appealing to you hey?
Basil Pesto Marinated Kale, Quinoa & Haloumi Salad
What you’ll need to feed 2 people as a main:-
- ¼ cup quinoa
- ½ cup recently boiling water
- 15g fresh basil leaves
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 tbsp grated parmesan
- 6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil – I used Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil Original
- A handful of kale (about 200g as a bunch), remove the spine and thinly chopped
- 180g (6 ounces) haloumi, sliced about 1cm/0.4 inch thick – I used Lemnos Cyprus Style Cheese
…. and a food processor
I should also point out that add skipping lemon in the pesto is necessary as citrus will cause discolouration of raw kale, unless you want to serve it right away. In other words, you have no choice but to go with homemade pesto in this case. 😉
Method:
Cook quinoa: Combine ¼ cup quinoa and ½ cup recently boiling water in a small pot and cook until 90% water has evaporated. Cover the pot with a lid and allow the quinoa to absorb the remaining liquid. Set aside.
Marinate kale: Add basil, garlic, pine nuts, grated parmesan and olive oil in a food processor. Process until finely chopped and emulsified. Transfer the pesto in to the pot containing the quinoa and stir until well combined. Add finely chopped kale and toss to combine. Set aside to allow the kale to marinate.
Grill the haloumi on a dry pan (no need to grease the pan) until all sides are beautifully charred. To serve, pile the marinated kale onto a plate and then top with grilled haloumi. Finish with a light drizzle of olive oil and splashes of hot sauce if you like.
Looks deliciously tasty! I love raw kale in salads with dried cranberries, apples, nuts and a orange vinaigrette dressing!