Kale Salad with Soft-Boiled Fresh Eggs

A year has gone by since the last post and a lot of new and wonderful changes have come into my life since then. The top three: love, a new neighborhood, and farm-fresh eggs.

 

We have been visiting the local farmers' market on Sundays and have recently started buying the farm-fresh eggs from Green Bow Farm. I did a little experiment earlier last week where I soft-boiled a grocery store-purchased egg and one of these farm-fresh eggs. The conclusion has changed our ways. The farm-fresh egg yolks were so deep yellow and rich we couldn't help but yelp 'omg' as we took our first bites with wide-open eyes.

Yesterday afternoon I was coming home from teaching yoga, and R and I were really hungry. I suggested a salad and he suggested protein. Conclusion: a satisfying, 'meaty' salad. This recipe is what we came up with...and kind of keep talking about. 

Take-home message of the day: go to your local farmers' market, buy a carton of fresh eggs, and never look back.

As with most of my recipes, the ingredients weren't measured, so make changes to your taste. All the cooked portions were done on an electric stovetop too...so if you are using a different cooking surface, times could vary. I highly recommend a glass of red wine alongside your salad, no matter what time of day it is.

Kale Salad with Soft-Boiled Fresh Eggs
Serves 2 hungry people



Simple Vinaigrette

1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
1 dash garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Salad

2 eggs
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup frozen corn
1/2 bunch kale, ribs discarded and leaves chopped
1 cup baby spinach, chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 tablespoons dry-roasted salted almonds, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons shredded white Cheddar cheese
2 strips thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

Combine lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a plastic or glass container with a lid; cover container and vigorously shake until dressing is light yellow and evenly combined. Taste, adjust seasonings, and set aside for flavors to blend.

Fill a small saucepan with water and carefully place eggs in the water; cover saucepan. Turn heat up to high and set timer to 10 minutes. Once water starts to boil, reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until timer goes off. Turn heat off and allow eggs to sit for 1 minute. Transfer eggs to a small fine-mesh strainer, pour hot water out of saucepan, and run eggs under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set strainer on top of the saucepan in the sink and allow cold water to run over eggs for a few minutes. Turn water off and let eggs sit in the cold water.

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add red bell pepper and corn and saute until corn is hot and red pepper is slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

Combine kale, spinach, carrot, almonds, white Cheddar cheese, and red pepper-corn mixture in a large bowl. Shake the salad dressing one more time and pour over kale mixture; fold salad using tongs until all ingredients are evenly coated.

Transfer salad to a serving bowl; top with bacon crumbles. Peel eggs and carefully slice them over the salad in case yolks drip. Arrange egg halves around the edges of the salad.