Luckily I still get to find kale in the country, aka cavolonero aka black cabbage in Italian. Not very popular in italian cuisine as much as in the US. It’s used mostly for making soups, but is getting a bit more “trendy” here now, hehe.

Last Sunday we went to a birthday party of one of our friends here in the country. She is also American and has two beautiful girl twins. We had a big late lunch outside with many other local friends from Milan. Whenever we have parties/ dinners at somebody’s house, everyone helps out and brings something, like a salad, a main dish or dessert etc. which makes it easier and less work for the host. I think it’s a great idea. This was the beautiful fall table she had prepared..

One of our friends is an amazing baker! he is a fashion stylist but could easily open a pastry shop, he loves to make cakes and is always bringing some kind of dessert. Plus he often uses alternative flours or sugars and uses the seasonal fruits from their garden. He made this amazing chocolate cake, decorating it with chocolate butterflies and leaves, and truffles on top too.

I made a kale and beet salad with an avocado tahini dressing to go with the rest of the lunch. Also our dogs enjoyed eating the last parts of it. 😉

Ingredients:
-1 big bunch of kale
-1 medium beet
-1/2 cup almonds
-1 spring onion
for the dressing:
-1/2 avocado or 1 small avocado
-1 tbls tahini
-2 tbls lemon juice
-2 tbls water
-1 garlic clove
-1 tbls olive oil
-salt & pepper

Start by making the dressing: blend the avocado, tahini, garlic clove, lemon juice, water, olive oil, salt and pepper. taste and adjust if needed then put in the fridge.
Wash and chop your kale, I like to cut the leaves off of the stems and chop them roughly then chop the stems smaller since they take more time to cook. Also chop the spring onion and set aside. In a big pan start cooking the chopped stems and onion with 1/2 cup of water and cover. After 5 minutes add the leaves and keep the lid on. you don’t want to overcook the kale so after 5 minutes it’s should be just fine, the leaves are wilted but still have a vivid color, like in the picture.
Peel the beet and start to grate it. It will take some time but nothing like cooking it. Eating raw beet is so good for you and you get all of the fresh beet juices that tend to disappear when you cook beets.
Chop the almonds and toast in a pan for 5 minutes untill golden, remember to stir continuously otherwise you’ll burn them!
Mix the kale, grated beet and almonds together in a big bowl. When ready to serve add the avocado & tahini dressing (add some water if needed after being in the fridge). Enjoy!