It’s been a fantastic year for kale in the garden. Happily, kale is as versatile as it is dependable. After all, one can only eat so many kale chips. We never run out of interesting kale recipes. Sadly, this is probably our last harvest of the 2023 growing season. We had to choose just one kale dish for the end of the season, and this Roasted Kale with Crispy Quinoa salad was just what we were craving! It involves a few steps, but it’s so worth the trouble.
It’s sometimes difficult to describe what makes a dish memorable, crave-worthy. This is one of those dishes. Roasted Kale with Crispy Quinoa, is crunchy, soft, sweet, sour, hot, and just simply lovely. I know, I know. That doesn’t sound very convincing.
Well, first let’s talk about what happens to vegetables when you roast them – the cabbage becomes meltingly sweet. And then you keep going until it has crispy edges. Same with the kale. We could stop there, and I’d be happy.
And then roasting the quinoa – wow. Tossing the quinoa with chili crisp before roasting takes it over the top. My friend Lisa introduced me to chili crisp, and I am smitten. There’s nothing like it. If you haven’t tried it or if you haven’t settled on a particular brand, you may find this article The 10 Best Chili Crisps, According to Bon Appetit Editors, interesting and informative. My favorite is Lao Gan Ma (not that I’ve tried any of the others, yet…)
And the agrodolce sauce – this is what pulls it all together. It’s amazing. This agrodolce is slightly sweet from the honey, and it’s infused with the pungent herbal notes of rosemary and sage. You pour it over the onions while the sauce is still warm, and the agrodolce tames the onions. I’ve always loved the tang of vinegar, but the concept of sweet and sour didn’t really get my attention early on as a cook. Agrodolce was just something I’d read about in cookbooks, but it didn’t become part of my repertoire until recent years. Palates evolve, and all of our senses revel in it!
So, Roasted Kale with Crispy Quinoa really is all that. It’s worth the time and trouble. You and your kale deserve it!
Roasted Kale with Crispy Quinoa
Equipment
- 3 12X17 baking sheets
Ingredients
TOPPING
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (or 2 cups cooked)
- 2 T chili crisp
- salt, to taste
SALAD
- ½ head green cabbage
- 7 ounces kale leaves (about 11 or 12 stems)
- 2 T olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
AGRODOLCE
- 1 red onion
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 T water
- 2-3 T olive oil
- 2 sage sprigs
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and cook the quinoa – Preheat the oven to 450℉, convection roast setting. Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
- Prep and Roast the vegetables – Remove the core and slice the cabbage thinly. Remove the kale leaves from the stems and slice the kale thinly. Spread the cabbage out evenly on one baking sheet, and spread the kale out evenly on a second baking sheet. Drizzle both sheets with oil and season with salt and pepper, and toss so that he cabbage and kale are evenly coated. Slide the cabbage into the oven first and roast it for about 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and add the kale to the oven and continue roasting for another 10 minutes, or until both the cabbage and the kale are slightly crispy. Remove both vegetables from the oven and turn the heat down to 375 degrees.
- Roast the quinoa – Add the cooked quinoa to a baking sheet and top with the chili crisp. Season with salt to taste and toss. Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through until the quinoa is golden and lightly crisp. If you like it extra crunchy (like I do), run it under the broiler for a minute or 2 at the end.
- Make the agrodolce – Thinly slice the red onion and place it in a bowl. Separately, whisk together the honey and water. Add the oil to a small pan over medium heat. Add the sage leaves and the rosemary sprig and toss to coat. Pour in the honey mixture. It may fizz a bit. Stir until it begins to thicken. Add a pinch of salt and the vinegar. Stir again and simmer for a few minutes until it's glossy and has body. Remove the sage and rosemary, and pour the agrodolce over the red onion. Stir to combine.
- Toss the veg – Toss together the kale, cabbage and red onion agrodolce and pour into a large bowl or onto a serving platter.
- Garnish – When the quinoa is out of the oven, spread it on top of the salad and serve warm.
When I told Ron this morning that I was planning to serve the left-overs again today as a side, he sheepishly had to admit that he had finished it off last night after I went to bed. So this vegan Roasted Kale with Crispy Quinoa is crave-worthy, even to Ron!