Kale, Coconut, and Farro Salad

UPDATED 02/06/14

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ll probably keep talking about it for the benefit of new readers. I recently committed to incorporating more grains and produce in our diet. Right now, I’m crazy about kale. I’ve always used kale in soups, but now I’m constantly popping kale tossed with olive oil and sea salt into the oven for a quick, nutritious kale chips snack. It’s the season for kale, and I’m taking advantage of it!

WHFoods has a great graphic breaking down the nutritional benefits of kale. It’s high in vitamins K, A, and C. It also contains needed minerals and fiber.

Tonight I made kale, coconut, and farro salad. Although it’s called a salad, it’s hearty enough, you could eat it as an entire meal on its own. Farro is a good source of fiber, complex carbohydrates, and protein. If you can’t go meatless, this salad would taste great as a side.

I obtained this recipe from my friend Nicole over at The Fresh Kitchen, who adapted it from Heidi Swanson. I’ve had it several times now at Nicole’s house, and it’s a favorite of mine. I think the sesame oil and the coconut really make the dish. It’s easy to make too, and really doesn’t take too long. I like this with al dente farro. Also, watch the kale and coconut closely while it’s in the oven. It’ll burn very quickly. I ended up making a little extra sauce at the end too, because I didn’t save enough to really cover it.

Nicole has graciously allowed me to repost her photo of the salad, because I overcooked my coconut and kale. =D So you can see her nice photo of how it should look. I will say that my slightly-overdone salad was still delicious. If I hadn’t tasted Nicole’s perfect salad, I never would’ve known mine had been toasted slightly too long.

Please note, the blog URL on this photo is no longer accessible. The brand new “The Fresh Kitchen” is at this address: http://thefreshkitchen.com/.
What’s your favorite way to use kale?
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