Grilled Kale Salad with Beets, Figs, and Ricotta

Ingredients:

4 small golden beets, peeled and cut into wedges

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbs. Vines & Branches Traditional Style Balsamic

1 tsp. maple syrup

one bunch of dinosaur (lacinto) kale (or green kale), bottoms of the stems removed

12 fresh figs, black mission or Turkish brown figs, stemmed and halved

1 generous cup of fresh ricotta

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425F. Toss the beet wedges with 1 Tbs. olive oil and sprinkle them with salt. Spread them in a baking dish and roast, stirring occasionally, until tender, 20-20 minutes.

Whisk together 2 Tbs. olive oil together with the balsamic vinegar and the maple syrup. When the beets come out of the oven, toss them with the dressing.

Heat your grill and coat the kale with the remaining olive oil and a good sprinkling of salt. Spread the leaves out on the grill and cook them, turning each over once, until they have developed crispy edges and charred splotches, several minutes. Transfer the kale to a cutting board, remove the tough center stems if you wish (I don’t bother, but it definitely means more chewing), and chop it coarsely.

Put a spoonful of ricotta on each salad plate, then divide the kale between the plates. Divide the beets between the salads, and drizzle some of the dressing that is leftover from the beets over each of the salads.

Finally, divide the figs between the salads, dollop the remaining ricotta over the salads, sprinkle each with salt and pepper, and serve.

(serves 4 as a first course, 2 as a hearty main dish)

Courtesy of: http://fiveandspice.com/2012/09/18/grilled-kale-salad-with-beets-figs-and-ricotta/