Weekend Recipe - Kale Salad

With walnuts, cranberries and kale this could easily be a fall recipe, but I find this kind of salad a perfect dish int he spring when I really want garden produce and the garden is not producing yet!

Kale Salad

2 cups fresh cranberries

4 to 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 /3  cup olive oil

1 /4  cup lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard

2 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel

4 cups chopped kale

2 cups cooked wild rice, cooled

1 small bulb fennel, cored and shaved or cut into very thin wedges

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1/ 2  cup thinly sliced red sweet pepper

1 /2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1.      Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil or parchment. Place cranberries and garlic cloves on pan. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil; sprinkle with  1/4 tsp. each salt and ground pepper. Roast, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until garlic is softened and cranberries are browned at the edges and wrinkled. Cool slightly.

2.      Remove garlic peels; finely chop garlic cloves.

3.      For dressing, combine in a screw-top jar the chopped garlic, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and lemon peel. Cover and shake well. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

4.      In a large bowl combine cranberries, kale, wild rice, fennel, walnuts, sweet pepper, and onion. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Makes 9 cups (serves 12)