Hot roasted potatoes in this healthy kale salad recipe wilt the kale just enough to make it tender. Bacon and blue cheese layer on smoky, salty flavors to stand up to the flavor of the kale. Serve this salad with steak or chicken.

Kale Salad with Bacon-Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Serves 6

Serving Size: About 1 1/3 cups

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 1-inch chunks

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

6 cups kale, stems removed, torn into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons cider vinegar

3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 tablespoon honey mustard

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

3 pieces center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 Belgian endives, cored and sliced

1/4 cup currants or sweetened dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Toss potatoes, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread out on a large baking sheet (reserve the bowl). Roast the potatoes, stirring once or twice, until tender and browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Place kale in the large bowl, add the hot potatoes and let stand for several minutes, tossing occasionally, until the potatoes are warm but not hot.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, vinegar, blue cheese, shallot, mustard, parsley and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the warm salad. Add bacon, endive and currants (or cranberries); toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Recipe nutrition: Per serving: 218 calories; 11 g fat (2 g sat, 7 g mono); 8 mg cholesterol; 26 g carbohydrate; 1 g added sugars; 6 g total sugars; 8 g protein; 4 g fiber; 390 mg sodium; 886 mg potassium.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (151 percent daily value), Vitamin A (150 percent dv), Potassium (25 percent dv), Folate (21 percent dv), Calcium (16 percent dv), Magnesium (15 percent dv)

2 Carbohydrate Serving(s)

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1/2 fruit, 1 1/2 vegetable, 1 fat

(EatingWell is a magazine and website devoted to healthy eating as a way of life. Online at www.eatingwell.com.)