The Kale Diaries, Part Three: Kale and Pomegranate Salad

Happy 2012, everybody!

If your holidays were anything like mine, you ate a lot of crap. Crap can take many forms: too many sweets, too much fast food, or just a bunch of high processed stuff. There's no better way than to de-crapify than with a super food salad.

Notes: The only reason this isn't Q.E.D. is because of the pomegranates. Pomegranates are in season now and if you've never had one, you should. The edible part is the seeds inside the husk. They are juicy, a little crunchy, and sweet/tart. The trouble comes when you have to monkey those seeds out.

Some people employ a spanking method. I disagree. Pomegranates, like LL Cool J, need love. I make a cut all the way around the pomegranate (seen in the photo above) and gently pry it open. I take each half apart as I need to, loosening the seeds as I go. You can work right over the container you plan to store them in. It's a little time-consuming, but you'll end up with a lot more seeds than the spanking method and you won't abuse your pomegranate in the process. Be sure to wear an apron or a dark shirt. The juice stains and you'll inevitably get some on you.

 
I made a single serving of this, but you could easily double the ingredients for two servings.

Ingredients:
1/4 of a bunch kale, stemmed and cleaned
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
Pomegranate seeds to taste
salt
pepper

Directions:
Chiffonade your kale by stacking the leaves on top of each other and rolling them up like a cigar. Slice the cigar thinly to get kale ribbons. Put them in the bowl you plan to serve the salad in and set aside.

Get to work on your pomegranate. Make a cut around the whole thing and pry it open. Gently pull the seeds away from the husk and knock them off into a tupperware container. Once you have all the seeds out, set the container aside.

Whisk together the balsamic vinegar and honey. Pour it over the kale and massage it into the leaves. Let sit for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the desired amount of pomegranate seeds on top. Give it one more toss and enjoy!