leafy goodness

as promised, i am bringing you the recipe for the most delicious kale salad in the world.

before i tell you how to make this vegetable delight, i have to tell you that this is my interpretation of the kale salad from fat cat pie.

for those of you who are not familiar, fat cat pie is an amazing pizza place in norwalk that literally only does pizza, salad, cheese plates, and dessert. oh, and they have a full bar and incredible wines.

their pizzas all feature a super thin, crispy crust with a long list organic toppings to choose from (my fave? housemade sausage with caramelized onions and broccoli rabe. YUM.) then there's the kale salad, which i will get into later, and a honey-lavender ice cream sandwich. as an added bonus, the owners also have a wine shop so they have amazing bottles at great prices, including a list of "sappers" for under $20/bottle!

i could go on and on about how amazing this place is, but just trust me - it is the ONLY place the boyfriend and i go when we decide to eat out. 

getting to the main point: the kale salad

fat cat makes theirs with very finely chopped kale, toasted pumpkin seeds, red currants, quinoa, and parmesan all tossed with olive oil.

here's mine:

 1. chop your kale 

remove leaves from stems and chop finely.

or, you can cheat like i do and buy it pre-chopped! it's available at stew leonard's, and perhaps elsewhere, with the other boxed lettuces.

2. toast pine nuts

in a skillet, toast pine nuts over medium-high heat until they turn golden brown.

3. add dried cranberries

4. sprinkle generously with grated parmesan cheese

drizzle the whole thing with olive oil to taste, and add a little pepper if you like. 

*if you have time, feel free to cook quinoa and add this to the mix, too! 

voila! a tasty, easy, healthy salad - in fact, here is the one i made for lunch that i am going to eat right now:

bon appetit!