Side Dishes
Warm Kale Salad with Pan Seared Figs
This warm, delicious salad has so many great flavours going on all in one dish. There is sweetness from the figs and honey, sour from the lemon, a bit of bitterness from the kale, saltiness from the feta and umami from the onion. The ingredients all combine into one amazing flavour sensation. This dish is also incredibly easy to make and only takes 10 minutes to prepare.
This Mediterranean type salad is also great for bone health, so would be a great dish for people with osteopenia or osteoporosis. The polyphenols in olive oil have been found to boost bone building cells as well as increase the deposit of calcium into bones.(1) Figs and feta are good sources of calcium which is critical for bone health. The kale is also a great source of calcium that is very bio available due to it being low in oxalates.(2) In addition, studies have found walnuts have been shown to prevent bone loss.(3) Even the onion is helpful as one study found that women eating onions regularly had higher bone density than those who eat them less often.(4)
Ingredients
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1 bunch curly kale, stem removed and torn into small pieces
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1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
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1/4 tsp salt
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juice from 1/2 lemon
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2 large figs, cut in half
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1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
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1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced
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45 grams of Greek style feta, crumbled
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drizzle of honey
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add kale and sprinkle over salt. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, pressing down the kale with the back of a spatula, and turning often. Remove to a platter and squeeze lemon juice over the top. Meanwhile place the figs cut side down in the pan and do not touch for 3-4 minutes until figs are caramelised and golden brown. Gently turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle the nuts, onion and feta over the salad. Place the figs on top. Drizzle with honey.
References
1. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0150045
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2321572
3. https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1475-2891-6-2