Slightly Modified Blissful Basil Recipe | Serves: 3 | Time: ~ 1 hr if you spread out the components, ~30 hours if you do it all at once
Quick Notes: Half of this recipe can be prepared in advance. If you like a less chaotic kitchen, do yourself a favor and take care of the chutney and apple salad components the night before or even three days ahead of dinner. You can even go ahead and prep the kale the night before, but I wanted it to be fresher. If you do end up making everything same day, you can manage < 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Apple Chutney
1 crisp red #apples (e.g., honeycrisp, pink lady, etc.), peeled, cored, and diced
3 tbsp agave or to taste
4 tbsp water
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Dash of ground cardamom
Apple Almond Farro Salad
1/2 cup uncooked #farro, rinsed
1.5 cups filtered water
1 medium crisp red apple (e.g., honeycrisp, pink lady, etc.), cored and diced
1/2 bunch scallions, well-trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced #almonds, lightly toasted*
4 tbsp dried cranberries
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp pure apple juice
1 tablespoons natural almond butter, stirred well before measuring*
1 tbsp coconut aminos, or to taste
Agave-Lemon Kale
1 bunch #kale, thoroughly washed/dried, stemmed, and finely torn
Juice of 1 lemon or to taste
1 tbsp agave, or to taste
1 tbsp coconut aminos, or to taste
Kale Puffs
1 box of Dr. Praeger's Kale Puffs
Advisory: these kale puffs save a ton of time but are pretty high in sodium -- 12% the daily recommended value. If you want to be as healthy as possible, consider making your own kale puffs from scratch or subbing any sort of other veggie tots like brussels sprouts tots.
Instructions
For the Cranberry-Apple Chutney
Add the cranberries, apples, maple syrup, water, cinnamon, and cardamom to a large saucepan. Turn the heat on medium-high and bring to a rapid simmer. Then, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cranberries burst open and the apples begin to soften, stirring occasionally.
Let cool and transfer to a glass jar.
Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.
For the Apple Almond Farro Salad
Add the rinsed farro and water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Strain off excess water. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the apples, scallions, almonds, and currants, and add them to a large serving bowl. Once the farro has cooled slightly, add it to the serving bowl, too.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, apple juice, almond butter, and aminos. Pour over the farro mixture and toss to coat.
Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.
For the Maple Lemon Kale
The kale is best prepared just one day in advance or just before serving, but you can simplify by prepping kale in advance (i.e., wash, stem, and finely tear).
Add the kale to a large non-reactive (e.g., non-metallic) mixing bowl. Spritz with the lemon juice and drizzle with agave and coconut aminos. Use your hands to massage the kale for a few minutes, or until it just begins to soften and wilt.
For the Kale Puffs
Just before assembling and serving the bowls, bake the kale puffs according to package instructions.
To Assemble
Tuck the freshly baked kale puffs into a roomy bowl alongside a bit of the chutney, farro salad, and kale.
Serve immediately.
Note to self: Consider making some vegan apple smoked sausage to make the meal a bit more filling.