Raw Kale Salad with Rhubarb-Mint Vinaigrette

**Originally posted on Greensgrow's blog**

If you're like us, you have a ton of rhubarb in your fridge right now begging to be used. The obvious way to utilize rhubarb is in a dessert setting, such as a pie or cobbler. But being the health conscience folks we are, we decided to employ its palate tingling tartness as the base for a salad dressing.

While any type of salad green will certainly do, we used the kale from Mardola Farm in Vineland, NJ. Making a salad with raw kale is a great way to level up your salad game. Rather than simply dressing the salad right before you eat it, massage the vinaigrette onto the kale and let it marinade for a for an hour or two. The acidity from the vinaigrette slowly tenderizes the kale, resulting in a hearty salad that melts in your mouth.

Toss in the this week's strawberries from Fifer Orchards in Delaware, some red onion and goat cheese (we bought Kirchenberg Farms goat cheese from Greensgrow's awesome farm stand) and you've got a salad that's absolutely singing with the fresh flavors of spring.

Rhubarb-mint vinaigrette:

Cook time: 15 mins.

Prep time: 10 mins.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (1 stalk) chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup honey
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 bunch mint, chopped

Directions:

• In a saute pan, simmer chopped rhubarb in the honey and water over medium heat for 15 minutes or until it's reduced to a syrup
• Puree the rhubarb syrup with the rice wine vinegar and salt until it's smooth.
• Transfer to a small mixing bowl and slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking constantly to emulsify it.
• Fold in chopped mint. You should yield about two cups of dressing

Raw kale salad:

Ingredients:

• One bunch kale, de-stemmed and washed
• ¾ cup rhubarb-mint vinaigrette
• 5 strawberries, sliced
• 1/3 cup sliced red onion
• 2 oz. Goat cheese

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, massage the vinaigrette thoroughly into the kale. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.
• Toss in onions, strawberries and goat cheese