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Enjoy this story from our archive, originally sent to TT members on .

Imperial Kaletroopers

Raw inspiration from Portland

Even though there’s a wood-fired grill on the premises, the chefs behind Portland’s recently opened Imperial know how to construct a standout salad. Co-owner and chef Vitaly Paley and executive chef Ben Bettinger serve this shredded kale salad as a prelude to their heartier mains, tailoring the salad to each season. This autumnal version combines thinly sliced kale with paper-thin peels of zucchini and carrots; come winter, the chefs often add fennel, turnips or beets. A quick tumble in tangy goat cheese dressing adds a creamy layer while still keeping it light. Serve the salad as a quick lunch or alongside a favorite oven-roasted main course.

Kale and Raw Vegetable Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing

Recipe adapted from Vitaly Paley and Ben Bettinger, Imperial, Portland, OR

Yield: 4 servings

  • INGREDIENTS

    • Goat Cheese Dressing 

    ½ cup mayonnaise

    1 tablespoon crumbled goat cheese

    1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

    ½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

    ½ teaspoon finely chopped chives

    Salt and freshly ground black pepper

     

    Salad

    1 large bunch kale--tough stems removed, leaves stacked, rolled and sliced crosswise into thin strips

    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

    1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

    1 large carrot, peeled and shaved into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler

    ½ large zucchini, shaved into long ribbons with a vegetable peeler

    Salt and freshly ground black pepper

    ¼ cup roasted, salted sunflower seeds

    ¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise until smooth. Stir in the crumbled goat cheese, vinegar, thyme and chives and mix until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Make the salad: In a large bowl, add the kale, olive oil and lemon juice. Use your hands to massage the oil and juice into the kale for 2 minutes. Add the goat cheese dressing and toss to coat. Add the carrot and zucchini and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle the sunflower seeds and the crumbled goat cheese over the salad and serve.
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About The Chef

Vitaly Paley (right) is the chef and co-owner of Paley’s Place Bistro & Bar, Imperial and the soon-to-open Portland Penny Diner. His first cookbook, The Paley’s Place Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Pacific Northwest (Ten Speed Press), was published in 2008. In 2005, he won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Pacific Northwest, and was nominated as a James Beard Foundation Semifinalist for Outstanding Chef in 2012.

Benjamin Bettinger (left) has worked at Vitaly Paley’s Paley’s Place Bistro & Bar, Clyde Common and Beaker in Portland, Oregon. Bettinger is the executive chef of Imperial and the soon-to-open Portland Penny Diner.

Imperial, 410 SW Broadway, Portland, OR; 503-228-7222 or imperialpdx.com
Go To Imperial's Website

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