Kale, Quinoa, and Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Feta, and Basil Dressing

We’ve officially been living in the country for 3.5 weeks! While I’m still getting my bearings, It will come as no surprise that I’ve quickly adopted a new lunchtime ritual. Around 12:30 I start getting peckish, and I stroll over to the vegetable garden to pick some greens for the base of my lunch. Right now the lettuce, chard and kale are all going crazy. After that, I head over to peruse my herb garden, to pick between green, purple, or thai basil, vietnamese coriander, lemon balm, loveage, and spearmint. My fist full of greens most likely become a salad, a dressing, and/or a quick sautée folded into scrambled eggs from our hens. After I make my meal, I head back over to the herb garden to sit in a plastic muskoka chair and proceed to eat slowly, and deliberately in the sun. In spite of the fact that I am currently unemployed, I feel rich. 

Kale, Quinoa, and Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Feta, and Basil Dressing

My best invention yet,has been this kale and quinoa salad studded with roasted red peppers and feta, and drenched in a basil dressing which takes it over the top and will have you wondering why you would ever spend $18 on a takeaway salad! It’s made with a simple technique that you could apply to any herb - I’m definitely going to try a lemon balm version. Homegrown kale is so much more tender than the stuff that they sell at the grocery stores, and conventionally grown kale is on the dirty dozen list, meaning that it’s found to have one of the highest levels of pesticide residue, so I highly encourage you to seek out some seedlings, stick them in a planter and grow it yourself - you don’t need a plot of land! It grows quickly and it will happily reproduce over and over again until the late fall, then you can create a little ritual for yourself too! 

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 cups of kale, washed, de stemmed and sliced thinly 

1 red pepper, chopped

½ cup goat or sheep feta, crumbled (optional)

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

 a fistful of basil, washed

1 lemon

1 clove garlic

Salt + pepper

Olive oil 

Pre-heat your oven to 425. On a small sheet pan, toss the chopped red pepper with some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast skin side down until nicely charred, about 15-20 minutes. Once finished, set aside into a shallow bowl, turn the heat down to 350, and toss the pumpkin seeds on the sheet pan, cooking until toasted (5-10 min) - be sure to keep an eye on them! 

The basil dressing, you could do one of two ways:

Food processor/blender: chop the basil and garlic, then add to the vessel with the juice of the lemon, a good glug of olive oil, some salt and pepper. Blend and season to taste

Mortar and pestle: chop the basil and garlic and add top the mortar with a pinch of salt, then pound down and mix until you’ve created an herby paste. Squeeze in the juice of the lemon, and stir with a spoon, then slowly add in some olive oil until you’ve reached your desired consistency. Season to taste. 

To assemble, massage the kale with 2 tbsp of the dressing until it is broken down and coated. Then fold in the quinoa, roasted red pepper, feta (if using), and more dressing to taste, topping with the pumpkin seeds.