Wilted Kale Salad With Blueberry Balsamic Reduction

Kale is so good for us, but has a stronger flavor than lettuce, so when I talk to people about kale, I get a lot of wrinkle nose faced reactions.  I wilted the kale in this recipe-I don't know if it necessarily mellows out the flavor much, but it does make the texture a little softer.  If you are new to kale, try easing in by baking some kale chips, most people I've talked to about kale chips do say they are good and anything you can do get more kale into your life is a good thing.  You could use salad mix or spinach in this recipe instead of kale, but double the balsamic reduction if you do since there will be a higher volume of greens if you don't use wilted kale.

Blueberries, pea pods, and kale are all in season right now.  Using in-season fruits and vegetables not only makes food taste better, but is also cheaper.  This recipe was inspired by a combination of Whole Foods Market recipe: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/3275 and Vegetarian Times recipe: http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/raw-kale-salad-with-root-vegetables/
On Cooking and Ingredients

Wilted Kale Salad With Blueberry Balsamic Reduction
Makes 3 small side dish servings, or 1 single entree serving

1 t finely chopped shallot
1/4 c blueberries
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
4 c kale stems removed and torn into bite sized pieces (about one medium sized bunch)
1/8 t sea salt
1 t cider vinegar
a handful of pea pods
a handful of pecans

Blueberry Balsamic Reduction
In a small pan, combine the shallot, blueberries, and balsamic.  Bring it to a boil over medium heat, and cook for about 12 minutes until the liquid has reduced to half, stirring occasionally.  It should be a gentle boil, so reduce the heat if necessary.  Let it cool completely.
Here's what it looks like when it starts cooking:

Here's what it looks like when it's done:

Wilted Kale:
Add the salt and cider vinegar to the kale in a glass bowl and use your fingers to massage the kale until it is wilted to about half the volume of what you started with.  Set it aside for a half an hour.  Then give it a rinse under cold water to rinse off the excess salt and squeeze it dry.
Here's what the kale looks like before wilting:

And after wilting:

Put the kale into a bowl and top with balsamic reduction, pea pods, and pecans and serve.