Overnight Kale Salad

As the days grow shorter, summer produce becomes a memory rather than a meal plan. And salads tend to slip off the menu just when we need them most to balance out indulgent holiday dinners and to load up on nutrients that are easy to miss during the cooler months. But with crisp cold-weather greens and robust members of the cabbage family to serve as a base, and a fresh harvest of root veggies, nuts, and savory mushrooms for toppers, salads can play a starring role at your table no matter what the calendar says. Check out these tasty winter salads:

Prep Time: 20 minutes, plus overnight marinade

3 Tbsp champagne or other white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp finely minced shallot
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 bunches dinosaur or curly kale (about 1 lb), center ribs and stems removed, leaves sliced into thin ribbons
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts

1. Whisk together vinegar, shallot, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

2. Toss kale in dressing to coat evenly. (The dressing will seem light, but the kale will wilt down to half its volume.)

3. Transfer kale to a lidded container and refrigerate overnight. To serve, divide kale among plates and top with pomegranate seeds, grated cheese, and pine nuts.

Makes 4 servings.
Per serving: 170 cal, 8 g fat (2 g sat), 22 g carbs, 760 mg sodium, 5 g fiber, 5 g protein

Salad Shortcut: No time for pomegranate pummeling? Toss on a handful of dried cranberries instead.

Super Soaker
Bold winter greens, such as vitamin-and fiber-rich kale, benefit from marinating in their dressing, because the salt and acid in most vinaigrettes tenderize the leaves without making them soggy. The trick is to use a light coating (kale will exude some liquid of its own as it wilts) and let it steep from 30 minutes to overnight.

PHOTOGRAPHER: KANG KIM