One of the great perks of my job as a food writer is that I’ve been privileged to eat some really amazing food, all in the name of “work.” Not that I’m complaining, but the downside to this is that it becomes increasingly rare for me to be surprised by a dish. The more I eat food from various cuisines and chefs to expand my knowledge and palate, the less often I experience novelty - and the sense of excitement from tasting something unexpected.
Thankfully, I stumbled upon a post from Matt Adler on social media that mentioned a salad with a lime and hot sauce vinaigrette and immediately felt that spark. The chef behind Caruso’s Grocery and Cucina Morini in the D.C.
area used it to dress a salad with kale, shredded broccoli, jalapeños, peanuts, figs, feta and charred corn. “Salads don’t need to be boring,” he posted, a reminder I welcome. “I often use an acidic hot sauce as the base for vins,” or vinaigrettes, Adler wrote, which includes brands such as Crystal, Louisiana and Frank’s RedHot.
These bottles are known as Cajun pepper hot sauces and consist mostly of chiles, vinegar and salt. Combining one with lime juice and honey in a salad dressing helps to balance the flavors and make it that much more enticing. It’s “nice with other punchy ingredients that can stand up to the full flavor,” Adler wrote.
Using his post as a jumping-off point, I decided to stick with kale as the base. What I love most about using heartier greens such as kale in salads is that they can last for a few days without becoming slimy, which is great for people like me who live alone. While any type of kale would work, lacinato kale, also known as Tuscan or dinosaur kale, is more tender than the curly variety and thus more suited for eating raw.
However, the stems can still be quite tough and are better removed when used in salads. You could place each leaf on a cutting board and use a knife to cut out the stem, but I find that it’s faster and easier to stem kale with your hands. To do so, use one hand to pinch at the base of the leaf, causing it to break on each side of the stem.
Then, keeping your fingers tight around the stem, use your other hand to grab the base of the stem and pull so that the fingers of your first hand run down the length of the stem to separate the leaf. (The stem will break off on its own when you reach the point where it is tender enough to do so.) From there, you can cut each leaf into strips.
Massage the greens with the vinaigrette to help them soften, then add sweet raspberries, creamy goat cheese, chickpeas for protein, pickled jalapeños for extra tang and spice, and crumbled tortilla chips at the last minute for crunch. With these ingredients, this salad is full of flavor, texture and - what I was most looking for - surprise. Kale Salad With Lime-Hot Sauce Vinaigrette 2 to 4 servings (makes 8 cups) Total time: 20 mins This kale salad is loaded with flavor thanks to raspberries, goat cheese, pickled jalapeños and a lime-hot sauce vinaigrette.
The vinaigrette calls for a mild hot sauce to add just a touch of spice, so proceed with caution if using a spicier bottle. Depending on how heavily you like your salads dressed, you may not use all the vinaigrette. Storage: Refrigerate the salad (without the chips) and any remaining vinaigrette for up to 3 days.
INGREDIENTS 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 to 2 limes) 2 tablespoons Cajun-style hot sauce, such as Crystal or Louisiana 1 tablespoon honey 2 small bunches lacinato kale (12 ounces total), stemmed and thinly sliced (8 cups loosely packed) 1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1 cup (4 ounces) raspberries 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled fresh goat cheese (chèvre) 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño slices Fine salt Freshly ground black pepper Tortilla chips STEPS In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, hot sauce and honey until thoroughly combined. Transfer about half the vinaigrette to a small bowl or cup. Add the kale to the remaining vinaigrette in the large bowl and toss, gently massaging the dressing into the greens until the kale softens slightly, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, raspberries, goat cheese and jalapeños to the bowl with the greens, and toss to combine. Taste, and toss with more of the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper, as desired. Crumble in a large handful of tortilla chips, toss to combine and serve.
Substitutions: Canned chickpeas >> 1 1/2 cups home-cooked chickpeas, any type of cooked beans or diced cooked chicken. Raspberries >> strawberries, blackberries or blueberries. Crushed tortilla chips >> croutons.
Vegan? >> Use agave instead of honey and plant-based cheese in place of chèvre. Nutrition per serving (2 cups), based on 4 and using all of the vinaigrette: 385 calories, 41g carbohydrates, 7mg cholesterol, 21g fat, 9g fiber, 13g protein, 4g saturated fat, 432mg sodium, 9g sugar This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
From staff writer Aaron Hutcherson..
