Come kale away with me: Kale, apple, and pecan salad
This family-friendly salad features massaged kale for a surprisingly tender texture.
Kale is a nutritional powerhouse. While it can be eaten raw, it’s remarkably versatile. It can be baked, braised, sautéed, roasted, pureed, and dehydrated. It’s also easy to grow and always available in stores.
This kale, apple, and pecan salad is family friendly. You can change the fruit and nuts to whatever you like. You can also add tart dried cherries.
The secret to making kale tender and yummy is to massage it. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on your kale after it’s been washed and shredded. Then drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil on it. Then take both hands and massage your kale. It will begin to break down and become soft and sweet. This process only takes a few minutes.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 2 bunches Lacinato kale with stems removed, torn into bite size pieces, washed, and dried
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Scant lemon juice
- 2 medium-sized apples, chopped into bite-size pieces (I like Granny Smith)
- 1 cup pecans, toasted, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup low-sugar dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Place kale in a bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Drizzle with one teaspoon of olive oil. Massage kale for a couple minutes to tenderize.
- Sprinkle a little lemon juice over apples to keep them from browning.
- Mix together kale, apple, pecans, and cranberries.
- Make dressing: Put the Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a jar and shake it up.
- Toss salad with dressing and serve. Start with 1/4 cup of dressing, then add more as needed to taste.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 173
- Total fat: 4 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 g
- Sodium: 254 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 33 g
- Dietary fiber: 4 g
- Total sugars: 20 g
- Protein: 4 g
Note: This information is based on using all of the dressing. More than likely, you won’t need it all. You can reduce the sugar and carb count substantially by reducing the amount of dressing you use.