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Warm Kale Salad With Walnuts and Pomegranate
![Warm Kale Salad With Walnuts and Pomegranate](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/11/09/dining/02tanisrex3-salad/merlin_215517735_ca7df0c0-d96b-47ad-9d7a-a8e08a13d70a-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- Salt and pepper
- 2pounds kale, stems removed
- 2tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 2tablespoons red-wine vinegar, white-wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- 1tablespoon lemon juice
- 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1cup toasted walnuts
- ½cup pomegranate seeds, or more to taste
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
- Step 2
Wash kale in a deep basin of cold tap water. Cut or tear into 1-inch ribbons. Add kale to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, cool and blot dry.
- Step 3
Make dressing: Combine pomegranate molasses, vinegar, lemon juice and mustard; stir to dissolve. Whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Step 4
To serve, place kale in an ovenproof serving dish. (A 9-by-13-inch pan, large cast-iron or small Dutch oven would all work.) Add dressing and mix to coat. Transfer dish to oven and cook until kale is heated through, about 5 minutes. Top with walnuts and shower with pomegranate seeds.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Recipe for homemade pomegranate molasses was posted by another reader from another recipe. 2 cups pomegranate juice 1 cup sugar Juice of one lemon Mix in a small saucepan and let it simmer down to about 1-11/2 cups. This was easy and delicious
Rather than cook the kale, I kneaded it with the dressing and served it cold. Loved it!
The kale turned an unappetizing brown/green color. It tasted good, but next time I will skip oven step.
If one doesn’t have pomegranate molasses, what is an acceptable substitution or a recipe to make it? Might a syrupy fruited vinegar work instead?
Delicious. I followed the advice of other commenters and skipped the oven step. Just thoroughly drained the kale after a short bath in the boiling water and gently squeezed the remaining liquid. The kale retained its bright color. I made the dressing the day before and kept it in the fridge. Olive oil in the dressing rose to the top but I simply whisked it all together and the taste and consistency corrected itself. Definitely a nice vegetarian dish that is not only healthy but delicious.
If you don’t have pomegranate molasses, try maple syrup. And if you don’t have Pom seeds, try diced grapes. I did this and it was quite good esp with the walnuts
This dressing was too tart. I ended up using half then adding more olive oil. Also skipped the oven step. Plus I shaved some pecorino over it just before serving. Was yummy with these modifications. Next time I’ll cut vinegar and molasses in half up front.
Made as directed and delighted with this as a warm side dish. I eat a lot of raw kale salads, always massaging to promote tenderness. But blanching the leaves in advance is a great idea. After blanching an entire bunch, I put the leaves in a salad spinner where they lasted several days, ready for either a cool or warm salad. Adding left over garbanzo beans made for a full meal.
Cook in a clay pot or n the oven
I don't eat kale, but will do this with collards.
Perfect salad when you have a bunch of kale and want to switch things up. Subbed dried cranberries for the pomegranate, and added some goat cheese and it came out great. Next time might add quinoa and sweet potatoes for a full meal.
don’t bother doing oven stage make sure kale is well drained kale shrinks substantially after blanching
This is a solid dish on its own, and easily made a whole meal with the addition of chopped chicken and quinoa. I also skipped the oven and only blanched the kale very briefly (maybe 30 seconds). Also added feta and subbed dried cranberries for pomegranate seeds. I know, I know, it's not the same recipe! But it was wildly satisfying.
Double the roasted pecans
This is work to Blanche kale prior to roasting in in oven- Definitely worth it!
I didn't cook the kale. It's excellent!
followed recipe more or less exactly (didn't measure pomegranate seeds or walnuts). Excellent. Kale stayed bright green,
Hmm. I cooked the kale for two minutes, and it came out very wilted and almost mushy. The flavors were generally good, but next time I would cook less (or not at all) and maybe use lacinato instead.
I loves sour, but this dressing was too much for me! I'd leave out the lemon juice next time.
I did blanch kale but did not place oven. Everyone enjoyed this as a room temperature salad- dressing was great.
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