Happy Sunday! Today I’m celebrating fig season by roasting them 🙂 The great thing about this salad is that it’s perfect for the beginning of fall. The kale makes it nice and hearty (and great for meal prep!). I used to really hate kale, probably because of how hyped up it’s become. But it really does make for a great fall salad when you give it a nice little massage first. Next week I’ll show you how I arranged all the ingredients in my meal prep.
I’ve been really digging rotisserie chicken lately because honestly, I just don’t have much time to cook at the moment. So I’ll just snag a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, pull the meat off the bones when I get home, and stick it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to use it (or pre-portion it for my meal prep). It saves me time dealing with trimming chicken and cooking it and cleaning up from it. It sounds kind of ridiculous, but every minute I’m doing that stuff is a minute I’m not doing something for my 17 credit grad school course load. But I digress…
On another not-food-related note, I feel like helping out with hurricane relief efforts bears mentioning again. This time I’m putting in a plug for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands…they have been devastated by Hurricane Maria and need your help. I wish I could be part of the relief effort alongside my Coast Guard family, but since I can’t (the grad school thing, ya know?), I donated to the Red Cross instead. You can do the same by clicking here.
Roasted Fig and Kale Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/2 rotisserie chicken, skin and bones removed (358 grams)
- 10 cups kale chopped
- 8 small figs ends removed, halved
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils
- 2 oz goat cheese crumbles
- 2 1/2 tbsp pine nuts
- Olive oil for massaging kale
- Optional: shaved/shredded carrots
Pomegranate Vinaigrette
- 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp Flavor God Garlic Lover's Seasoning
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Add halved figs, cut side up, to the baking sheet. If desired, add a drop of honey on top of each fig. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Add pomegranate juice to a small pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat to a simmer and continue to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until reduced by half. Set aside to cool.
Add kale to a large bowl. Drizzle with about 1 tsp of olive oil and massage the kale gently until the olive oil is spread evenly and the kale turns a brighter green, like the kale in the photos. (You shouldn't need to spend more than a couple seconds on any one piece of kale.)
Whisk cooled pomegranate juice together with the remaining vinaigrette ingredients. Set aside.
Assemble salads with kale, chicken, figs, pomegranate arils, goat cheese, pine nuts, and carrots (if desired). Top with vinaigrette before serving.
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Hello! I’m a current Senior at Vanderbilt University and I’m working on a project to improve peanut butter jars. I have enjoyed reading your blog and share your love for peanut butter! Do you ever find it difficult to scoop out peanut butter from the bottom of the jar? Would you potentially be interested in a jar with a lever (think of a push pop) that lets you scoop out all its contents?