Kale, Barley & Roasted Beet Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Hey! Hey! Hey!!!

How are you doing?

I find myself constantly alternating between dreamy, instagram-worthy living where I have a cup of tea and homemade short biscuits at 3pm each day and trot around windy cities with my husband on weekends, and not being able to remember how long ago I washed my current bath towel and scrambling around at 4:45am to try to find Mr.  Pedantic a pair of black socks for work. I'm not sure how all three hundred pairs always manage to be dirty. 

This salad right here is for the organized days.  The days where we are purposeful about fueling these bodies of ours. 

This is my adaptation of an amazing salad I had when I visited Chattanooga a year and a half ago.  Up until that point, I would have told you that I did not eat beets.  

Then, I ordered a salad in some very hipster, exposed beams + crystal chandelier kind-of coffee shop and fell in love with the sweet, jewel-like cubes that lay atop my greens.  That salad taught me that roasted beets are nothing like the horrible canned slices of my childhood.   

This salad also makes me really like kale, which is sometimes a challenge.  I had a kale chip experience once.  I don't want to talk about it...

So let's make it!

Wash your greens, scrub your beets, and preheat your ovens. 

Beets are wrapped up in aluminum foil, along with a bit of olive oil, and roasted until soft and sweet. Then we get to peel off those skins, which is also known as, "time to dye our fingers fuchsia." 

I love the addition of barley in this salad because it makes my brain think I'm eating pasta and adds a very welcome chewy texture. 

Kale is chopped fine and gets cozy with our still-warm barley and a sweet honey and poppy seed dressing.  

The colors here are making me really happy. 

Now, for the toppings. 

I threw pistachios, dried cranberries, and feta atop this salad, but the sky is the limit!  Use whatever nuts or dried fruits you have on hand.  I think walnuts would be excellent. 

The salty feta alongside the sweet roasted beets is my favorite. 

I know it's Pi Day, but around here pretty much every day is Pie Day - just check the archives.  Oh, and when you need to detox, me and my new salad will be waiting here for you.  xoxo

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Beet & Barely Salad

serves 4-6

for the beets

3 medium-sized beets, greens removed

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Clean beets thoroughly.  Cut 3 large squares of aluminum foil and pour 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil into the center of each.  Place each beet on top of the oil and wrap the sides of the foil up and around the beet, sealing it tightly.

Place the foil-wrapped beets in a baking dish and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until fork-tender.  

(This is a great time to cook your barley.)

Allow the beets to sit until they are cool enough to handle, then peel away the outer skins.  Chop into 1/4-inch cubes. 

for the barley

1 cup quick-cooking barley*

2 1/2 cups chicken stock 

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Combine barley and chicken stock in a 3-quart sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, with the lid on, for ten minutes. 

Remove the pan from the heat and allow the barley to sit, covered, for five minutes.  Drain away any excess liquid and fluff with a fork.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine.

Allow the barley to cool slightly before adding it to the salad. 

*I buy Trader Joe’s “10-Minute Barley.”  Of course, if you prefer traditional barley, that will certainly work here - just prepare it according to the maker’s instructions. 

for the dressing

3 tablespoons honey 

1 tablespoon dijon mustard 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small jar, combine honey, dijon mustard, sea salt, poppy seeds, and lemon juice.  Use a fork to whisk together. 

Add the olive oil to the mixture and top your jar with a tight lid.  Shake until the dressing is smooth and well combined.

toppings & assembly

6 cups kale, cut roughly into bite-size pieces 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1 cup crumbled feta 

1/3 cup pistachios  

cooked barley

roasted beets

prepared dressing

There are two ways to make this salad.  The first option is to prepare it as instructed below for serving a large group.  The second option would be to refrigerate the roasted beets, barley, and dressing in separate containers and build individual salads as you need them.  (The individual elements will last at least a week in the refrigerator.)  The choice is yours.  For an individual salad, I used two good spoonfuls of dressing. 

Pour the dressing into the bottom of a large salad bowl and add chopped kale, barley, and roasted beets; toss to coat.  Allow this mixture to sit for five minutes or so.  This resting time will give the kale a chance to soften.  Top with cranberries, feta, and pistachios.  Serve immediately and enjoy! 

Winter Shrimp & Grits

We are but days away from Christmas.  

At this point, every young heart is fluttering and tiny hands are itching to begin tearing, untying, and discarding all of that lovely gilded paper we adults have so carefully secured. 

If I may, I would like to commandeer your Christmas Eve and insist that you make these shrimp and grits for you and your family this year.  Throw tradition to the winter wind for a moment and embrace the pinnacle of neoclassic southern flavor.

While shrimp and grits are not the most conventional of holiday foods, the flavors here are full of festive charm.  

Creamy grits, thick with gruyere and heavy cream are the bed for tender, garlic-kissed shrimp.

In my mind, this is the ideal pre-Christmas dinner.  Preparation time is at a minimum, and the flavors are rich and comforting - the perfect prefix to your long winter’s nap. 

My mama always made us the most wonderful Christmas breakfasts.  One in particular reigns in my mind, because that was the first year that she brought home a strange and unusual fruit.  She called it a pomegranate, and explained that we were only to eat the “seeds” of this exotic treasure trove.  

From the pink, leathery skin, flowed out hundreds of gem-like arils that we ate with vigor and enthusiasm.

Ever since that moment, that early, Christmas-morning moment, I have been a faithful lover of the otherworldly fruit and its singular texture and flavor.  It tops my morning yogurt, studs my salads, and this year, it is bringing an acidic punch and welcome crunch to shrimp and grits. 

I sometimes wonder if I would still love pistachios as much if not for their bright, chartreuse hue. 

These near-neon nuts combine with the sharp pomegranate arils to make a veritable Christmas wreath atop our shrimp and grits. 

You will not find any cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, or thyme here, but this dish is every kind of comforting.  

I made this dish last week, and as the shrimp were sizzling away on my stove I stood over the pot of grits with a very large spoon and ate them straight from the pot.  Gruyere has a way of making everything irresistible. Heavy cream doesn’t hurt one bit either. 

Come on, let’s get on this cheese-fueled bandwagon together. 

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

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Winter Shrimp & Grits

serves 4

for the shrimp

• 1 lb fresh shrimp (peeled and deveined) 
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1/3 cup white wine

In a large, nonstick frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes; until fragrant and just slightly browned. 

Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes, until their color has started to develop, then add the wine.

Simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes, until their color is full and they are just firm to the touch. The edges of the shrimp should not wrinkle up - that is a sign of over-cooking!

Remove from heat and add the remaining tablespoon of butter.  Allow to cool slightly while you prepare the grits. 

for the grits

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk 
• 1 cup yellow corn grits or polenta 
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream 
• 1 1/4 cups grated gruyere 
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup roasted, salted pistachios 
• 1/4 cup pomegranate arils 

In a medium saucepan, combine milk and chicken broth and place over medium high heat.  Bring the mixture just to a boil then reduce heat to medium and add grits.  

Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to a porridge consistency; about 2 minutes. 

Remove the grits from the heat and stir in butter and heavy whipping cream.  Fold in gruyere, salt, and pepper. 

Place a heavy spoonful of the hot grits into four bowls and top with the prepared shrimp.  Ladle any cooking liquid left from the shrimp over the bowl.  Sprinkle with pomegranate arils and pistachios.  Serve immediately. Enjoy!

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