Kale is such a versatile green, it’s funny how I only started eating it after moving to Canada. Back in Singapore, leafy greens were a staple feature in our meals, with my mother cooking up vegetables such as Chinese Gai Lan, Bok Choy, sweet potato leaves, water spinach, to name a few.
The variety of vegetables in Quebec City’s farmer’s markets and supermarkets are vastly different, with a larger selection of non-leafy vegetables instead, and a limited variety of Chinese greens. So one leafy vegetable stood out to me, and it was kale, with its long elegant stalks and wild-looking leaves. Here in Québec it’s called chou frisé, though some folks simply call it chou kale or even kale!
My first encounter with kale was at a small organic vegetable shop with a fantastic selection of kales, collards, Swiss chards and other greens. I had read about these vegetables that I had never seen before and was eager to try them out, so I bought a bunch of curly kale and made salad with it. The frilly, firm texture was novel to me and I loved it!
Kale salad is great but the cold, raw greens can be hard on the gut, so I like to massage them with oil to soften the leaves and serve them warm. I make it a point to stock up on kale at least every other week. It may be a nutrient powerhouse but moderation is always good.
In this dish, the tasty dried mushrooms are rehydrated and cooked, then tossed with the marinated kale to make a lovely and flavoursome warm salad. I got my sliced dried mushrooms (Gourmet Mix Mushrooms from The Wild Mushroom Co) from Costco Canada, though all sorts of brands and varieties of dried mushrooms can be easily found in most supermarkets or speciality food stores.
With the hot days of summer cooling off in the Northern Hemisphere, this makes a great fall-inspired side dish. If you love the satisfying bite of curly kale and the complex flavours of dried mushrooms coupled with tangy balsamic vinegar, this dish is for you!
Where to get certain ingredients online:
Check out a video on how to choose kale and prepare it.
Further information on dried mushrooms here.
- 1oz/ 30g/ 1¼ cup sliced dried mushrooms, rinsed
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 bunch kale, sliced thinly
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped (about ½ cup)
- 5 tsp and 1 tbsp avocado oil, divided
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided
- Sea salt, to taste
- Soak the dried mushrooms in the cup of hot water and set aside
- Remove the stems from the kale, discarding if preferred
- If using the stems, slice them thinly and set aside
- Chop the kale leaves into small strips and place in a salad/ mixing bowl
- Massage 5 tsp of avocado oil, 1 pinch sea salt and 1 tsp balsamic vinegar into the kale leaves
- Heat 1 tbsp avocado oil in a frying pan over medium heat
- Squeeze the soaked mushrooms dry, trimming off any tough stems
- Reserve the mushroom liquid and saute the mushrooms for 3 minutes
- Add in the sliced shallot and saute until translucent
- Incorporate the kale stems and saute for a minute (if using)
- Pour in the mushroom liquid, stirring to mix
- Once it starts to boil, cover the pan, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes
- Uncover, increase the heat to medium and add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
- Let it cook until any remaining liquid has evaporated, around 5 minutes, before removing from heat
- Season with sea salt to taste
- Pour the hot mushrooms over the kale leaves and toss evenly
- Serve warm
When using the mushroom liquid, pour it out carefully, leaving any sediment/ grit from the mushrooms at the bottom of the bowl.
I think you pinpointed my issue with most salads, the COLD! I much prefer food at room temp. I can’t have mushroom due to candida so I’ll need to find some other replacement.
Hmm, I’m thinking shrimp/ prawns would make a tasty alternative to the mushrooms! If so, I think you could switch the balsamic vinegar to white balsamic if you want to keep it bright looking.