This salad is inspired by the incredible food I enjoyed during a weekend in wine country for a wedding. Everything served is fresh, healthy and so visually appealing! I am always a lover of salads and this particular salad tries to balance different colors and textures. I chose a parmesan dressing to give the salad a little richness, but you could easily choose another dressing of choice. The lacinato kale can be a bit rough, but if you cut it thinly and remove the large rib in the middle, it adds great texture to the salad and I love the deep green hue that holds up well with any dressing. A plate of health and wonderful flavor to match lush northern California wine country.

Sonoma fresh !

Serves 3-4 as side salad

Ingredients:

for salad:

  • 1 bunch lacinato kale
  • 1 head of romaine heart
  • 4 ounces mixed greens
  • 1 cup San marzano tomatoes
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 4 golden beets
  • 1 cup small white beans
  • 1 cup pitted green olives
  • 1 cup shaved purple cabbage
  • 1 /4 of red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 grated parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

for dressing:

  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 tablespoon Alessi white balsamic vinegar reduction
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Place pepper on foil lined baking sheet. Roast for about 45 minutes until skin is blistering and charred in some areas. Remove from oven, allow pepper to sweat by wrapping in foil and cool. Once cooled, open foil, remove skin and seeds and slice pepper into small strips and set aside. Reduce oven temp to 350. Wash and trim greens from beets and wrap individually in foil. Place in oven and roast for 40 minutes. Remove from oven unwrap from foil and once cool enough to handle, peel off skin and dice in 1/2 inch dice. (Can be made ahead) and set aside until assembling salad.

To prepare greens, wash and trim kale. If the lacinato kale has large ribs in the center,cut along the side of each rib to remove. This can be particularly unpleasant to chew. Next, slice the kale very thinly horizontally the way you would julienne basil. Use a sharp knife for this task. The goal is long, thin strips and the thinner the better. Place kale in a bowl with olive oil and a bit of kosher salt. With clean hands, massage the kale between your hands and rub it to help break down the cellulose. The kale will be shiny and soften through this process.

Combine all your salad greens together in a large bowl or platter along with reserved vegetables and sprinkle with parmesan. Whisk all ingredients for dressing together in a mixing cup. Once ready to serve, toss with dressing, serve immediately and enjoy!