This New York Times article on Crown Maple Syrup inspired me to create a salad dressing using maple syrup. Madava Farms, where Crown Maple is made, is where we held my baby shower last December. Since visiting the farm, I’ve been using Crown Maple all over the place: in my favorite granola recipe, as a topping for yogurt and pancakes, and as a sweetener in my coffee. But I hadn’t yet thought to make a salad dressing with it until this morning.
I set out to do the shopping for this salad, but was limited to places where I could take the dog and the stroller. So far the only place I’ve found that meets this criteria and also sells food is Duane Reade. Since I already decided we weren’t going to have cereal for dinner, I walked all the way to the green market at City Hall for some outdoor shopping. Although we have had two nice days in a row, spring has yet to arrive in NY and the green market only had root vegetables and kale. I anticipated a few groans from SJ about repeating those winter staples, but I was confident my maple-based sweet and spicy dressing would win him over.
Just in case that wasn't enough, I picked up some fresh-baked banana bread to serve with the salad—so that SJ doesn’t say “what’s for dinner” after taking his last bite of kale.
--Bec
Kale Salad with Sweet Chili Vinaigrette
Dressing:
1 small shallot, minced
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
juice from 1/2 a lime
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
¼ teaspoon sriracha (or more for a spicier dressing)
Salad:
1 large bunch of kale, torn into small pieces
roasted sweet potatoes and carrots (see instructions below)
aged cheddar cheese, crumbled
toasted pumpkin seeds
Make dressing by whisking together the ingredients.
Toss dressing with kale and let it sit while roasting the sweet potatoes.
Top kale with roasted sweet vegetables, cheddar and toasted pumpkin seeds.
To Roast Sweet Potatoes and Carrots
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut sweet potatotes and carrots into bite-sized pieces.
Toss veggies with olive oil and spread in one layer on a baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake for 40 minutes.
