Kale and Leafy Greens Salad with Garlic Homegrown Garlic Vinaigrette

I have been enjoying homegrown season to the fullest this week! Tonite, our family of four celebrated a low-key Father’s day at home with bone-in ribeyes from our friend who raises our beef, Jack McCormick of Ellis Grove. Jack provides us with steers for our meat department and he produces beautifully marbled beef. The steaks were amazing but I think they were even better because of our buffet of homegrown veggies! In addition to grilled beets, potatoes and onions and the last of the season asparagus, we made a fresh garlic dressing for a greens salad.

A few years ago, Chris and I took a couples cooking class at the Kitchen Conservatory in Clayton MO. We especially enjoyed the recipe for fresh garlic dressing. I have modified the recipe a bit to use honey instead of sugar and to let the fresh farm garlic really shine. I hope you will give it a try. Freshly-harvested garlic is very mild and roasting it mellows it even further. The result is a savory dressing with a hint of sweetness. I guarantee it will become your favorite balsamic dressing of the season!

 I hope you had a great Father’s Day weekend too! Eat well this summer, Angie

For dressing:

2 heads of Eckert’s Homegrown Garlic
½ cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
1/8 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Eckert’s Pure Honey
½ tsp Kosher salt
¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper
2 Tbs water

For salad:

5 cups of mixed greens and Eckert’s Homegrown Kale
1 cup of Eckert’s Homegrown Sungold Cherry Tomatoes, halved
2 oz goat cheese
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut tops of garlic heads off (remove about 1/4 “ of papery tops). Place heads in an oven safe dish. Drizzle 2 Tbs olive oil over heads. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove garlic from oven, remove foil and allow heads to cool for 15 minutes.

Squeeze cloves out of papery heads into a blender or food processor. Process or blend roasted garlic, parsley, and vinegar. Drizzle in oil. Then add honey, salt, pepper and water until well incorporated.

Arrange greens in a medium bowl. Top with tomatoes and drizzle with dressing. Top with goat cheese crumbles and fresh cracked pepper. Serve immediately.

Eckert's Kale Salad with Strawberries

I am new to the world of kale! I have seen it in magazines and blogs everywhere over the past year and yet I have very little experience with it in my own kitchen. This year Eckert’s is growing kale which presents the perfect opportunity to start a collection of kale recipes.

 My kids have been having fun picking it from our garden at Eckert’s. It is easy to harvest the curly, bluish leaves with a little twist of the wrist. We currently have some Eckert-grown kale for sale in our Country Store in Belleville.

 I have made this kale salad several times this spring. The original recipe called for apples instead of strawberries and that too is delicious. But with strawberry season soon coming to an end, I find myself assembling this salad a lot lately. In fact, we’ve already had it twice this week!

As I tear the fresh-picked kale leaves in to bite size pieces for my serving bowl, I remove and compost the center stems. (When eating kale raw, I find the stems to be exceptionally bitter and somewhat tough.) For quick assembly, I keep a Ball jar of the dressing in my frig. This salad’s tangy dressing, sweet fruit and creamy Manchego cheese temper the bitter kale flavors quite well. Since I am fairly new to eating raw kale, I LOVE the balance of flavors in this recipe.

I hope you will give the homegrown strawberries and kale combo a try- it will amaze you!

Eat well this spring, Angie

For Dressing:
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

For the Salad
1 large bunch (about 1lb) kale, stems torn, cut out, or julienned
1/3 cup dried apricots, julienned
1/4 cup almond slivers
2 ounces manchego cheese, grated
1/4 cup dried cranberries
2 cups sliced strawberries 

In a large bowl whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, mayonnaise, sugar and salt. Add the kale and toss to coat well. Set aside for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the apricots, almonds, cheese, and cranberries over the dressed kale. Toss again to evenly distribute. Season with pepper and additional salt, if needed. Arrange strawberry slices over the top of the salad and serve.

P.S. Do you have a great recipe using kale? If so, please share with me! I will gladly trade you some fresh kale for a fabulous recipe. Just email me at Angie.eckert@eckerts.com

We are excited to announce that we have a large vegetable garden planted that will be available for pick-your-own in early July - like us on facebook for the most up to date picking information. 

Aunt Helen’s Strawberry Salad

The days of May seem to trot along at a hectic pace filled with a plethora of end-of-school year activities and celebrations. Can you relate? My husband and I both have May birthdays, our anniversary and Mother’s Day tucked in there to celebrate! Of course I find this all fun but it does seem to cut into my time in the kitchen.

 Last week I needed a quick, seasonal salad for several weekend get-togethers with friends and family so I opted for Aunt Helen’s Strawberry Salad for several occasions.  Now it may seem like cheating to use bottled salad dressing, but I declare it officially isn’t if you are having a busy week! And if you want to be a little sneaky about it, you could pour the dressing into a Ball jar and act like you made it from scratch. I promise I won’t tell a soul!

The dressing in this salad, Aunt Helen’s Sweet Vinaigrette, has a balance of sweet and tangy flavors that compliments ripe strawberries. I most often make this salad with feta cheese but it is also tasty with Swiss or Provel. I like it best topped with sliced almonds but walnuts are also delicious.

While this salad is named in honor of Aunt Helen, my husband’s great aunt, the recipe is not actually hers. We named  it after her so we could remember  her spunky personality and celebrate that she lived to be 105 years old! Aunt Helen’s Salad can be found on our restaurant menu and the dressing is for sale in our Country Store in Belleville.

I look forward to making this many more times this strawberry season and I hope you will give it a try when you find yourself craving a delightful salad amidst a busy week.

Eat well this spring, Angie

Aunt Helen’s Strawberry Salad

5-6 cups mixed salad greens

½ cup shredded Swiss cheese or Feta cheese crumbles

1/3 cup English walnuts or slivered almonds

Aunt Helen’s Sweet Vinaigrette drizzled to taste

We are so excited to announce that we now have Homegrown Strawberries available for purchase in our Country Store in Belleville and even more excited to tell you that Pick-Your-Own Strawberries will open this Saturday, May 17th at 9am at our Belleville Farm. As always, please check our harvest hotline for the most up-to-date picking information.

Tomato Feta Salad

My family stopped by Jill Eckert Tantillo's house on the Fourth of July to celebrate and let the kids splash around in the pool.  Of course, the food was plentiful and as delicious as ever!  Jill loves trying new recipes and this is one that I haven't had before, but fell in love with right away!  I must say, it is the perfect addition to any backyard barbecue this summer.  Enjoy!

Tomato Feta Salad

Ingredients:
4 pints grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 1/2 cups small-diced red onion (2 onions)
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
8 oz feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and toss well. Gently fold feta into the salad and serve at room temperature. Makes 12-14 servings.