Now this is what I call a non-wimpy salad. A bowl full of kale, pomegranate, grape and walnut goodness turned rogue with slivers of creamy manchego and large chunks of slow-cooked pork belly, browned and crisped to perfection. All finished off with a garlicky sweet and sour pomegranate dressing. I’ve been meaning to make this for about a month and I had a piece of slow-cooked pork belly waiting in the freezer all over Christmas - yet I only got round to making this now. I’m shaking my head in disbelief as I sit at my desk writing this whilst cramming large forkfuls of the stuff into my mouth. IT’S SO GOOD! So I, like many other bloggers, am completely obsessed with kale. In smoothies, pasta, breakfast, soup and even as a sweet snack (wow I didn’t realised just how much of it I eat). I think it’s the mild, slightly buttery taste of it that lends itself well to so many types of food. Plus the bushy leaves are great for soaking up sauces and gravy. Did I tell you I tried replacing the kale in my green smoothie with some spring green cabbage once? Eugh. Don’t try it. Never have I tasted a more digusting drink in my life. Except maybe that large shot of absinthe I had once on a weekend in Blackpool. They outlawed that stuff for a hundred years for good reason. Let’s move away from that experience and come back to this amazing salad.
It does take a bit of time to prepare the pork belly, so I would definitely recommend making double. Maybe have some served with apple sauce and potatoes – a great Sunday dinner meal. Then save the rest for this salad. You can freeze the cooked pork belly, as I did. Just defrost thoroughly before chopping into small chunks, sprinkling with a little salt (to get that lovely, salty crackling topping) and then fry for 8 or 10 minutes. The kale takes about 30 seconds, just throw it into the hot pan you cooked the pork in and give it a quick stir to let it wilt slightly. Then plate up and scatter over the pork and all of the other goodies. A tip for getting your pomegranate seeds out: Take a bowl. Slice your pomegranate in half and loosely hold the cut side in the palm of your hand (over the bowl). Whack the back of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon. The seeds will drop out with your hand and you can then tip them into the bowl. You should still expect a few splashes, but it’s the quickest way to get all the seeds out intact. Use half of the seeds for the salad, and then put the other half in a sieve and squeeze the juice out for the base of your salad dressing.
The Warm Kale & Pork Belly Salad with Pomegranate Dressing Recipe:
Spicy Chicken Nourish Bowl Hawaiian Chicken Salad Chicken Shawarma and Pita Salad Roasted Kabocha and Goat’s Cheese Salad Falafel Salad Bowl Seared Steak Poke Bowl Salmon Sushi Bowl crispy lamb salad And i have a whole category for salads for you check out too. Enjoy!
