Who loves Kale?

So, as most of you know my brother is getting married in 2 weeks. I hosted a bridal shower at my house in April. I tried to think of something clever that I could give to my soon to be sister-in-law that she would have forever. Shower gifts are tough. Unless you are purchasing something off the registry, it is either hit or miss. I remember at my shower I got 40 pieces of underwear. First let me say it was so nice that everyone thought bras and underwear were the perfect shower gift. It would be, IF,  you were having a “lingerie” shower. But mine was a bridal shower and I ended up with more underwear than I possibly knew what to do with. I still have the Barney’s underwear from my husband’s awesome aunt but, besides that, I think every other piece is in some landfill in the US of A. Therefore drawing from that experience I did get one gift that I loved and still have. My closest friend sent everyone a recipe card. They were asked to fill out the card with their favorite recipe and send back before the shower. All the cards were placed in a recipe box and given to me at the shower. It was an amazing gift that I still use to this day! I decided to pass along the same idea. This time (12 years later), everyone could actually EMAIL me the recipe, I could copy and paste it on the card and put it in the box. Now, not that my friends were great cooks and chefs and had great recipes BUT my sister-in-law’s friends and family had some KILLER recipes!!! It was the best gift because not only did she get 30 new recipes, so did I! I have made several of them and I decided I would pass them on since they are so good.  This is my first one of the bunch! It is a HUGE crowd pleaser!

Kale, Apple and Pancetta Salad

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients
•    1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
•    4 ounces sliced pancetta, diced
•    1/4 cup Champagne vinegar
•    1/4 cup pure maple syrup
•    1/4 teaspoon salt
•    1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•    1 small head radicchio, shredded
•    1 8-ounce bunch kale, stems discarded, leaves shredded
•    2 tart yet sweet apples, sliced into thick matchsticks
•    3/4 cup pecans, toasted if desired

Instructions:
Combine the olive oil and pancetta in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until pancetta is golden and crispy. Strain the pan drippings into a small bowl and leave the crispy pancetta off to the side to cool. Add the Champagne vinegar, maple syrup, salt and pepper to the pan drippings and whisk well.

Combine the radicchio, kale, apples and pecans in a large bowl. Toss while adding the dressing, little by little, until salad is well dressed. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Garnish with crispy pancetta.

In case you are curious as to what the olive oil and pancetta step is see below:

Basically you cook and stir this until the pancetta is good and golden brown. Your house should smell amazing!

Next strain the drippings and oil into a bowl. This will be used to make the fabulous dressing.

After this, shred the kale and radicchio, cut the apples into wide matchsticks leaving skin on (try not to eat them before you put them in the bowl)

To finish the dressing, whisk the champagne vinaigrette, maple syrup, salt and pepper

Toss the vinaigrette with the kale, radicchio and pecans

And whala….. Top with the pancetta and serve …or eat the entire salad yourself. It’s that good!

This recipe actually originated from an amazing salad column called Serious Eats. Somehow it made it into the recipe box and now the magic has been shared with you.

I hope you love it as much as I do!