Kale salad with apricots and almonds
I’m always amazed at how divisive kale is. People either say they love it more than any other food, or they can’t stand it. However, I find that those who say they hate it really haven’t eaten it more than once or twice – and they probably haven’t had it prepared in an interesting way.
Today I made a kale salad that’s sweet, salty, chewy and crunchy. I used tamari almonds and dried apricots, but there are endless variations on this dried fruit-and-nut theme. Sliced almonds and cranberries, pistachios and cherries, pine nuts and golden raisins, etc. They’re all great. And if you’re a cheese eater, a little shaved parmigiano-reggiano on top would be delicious.
This salad could just be the thing to create “kale converts.” Try it out on a kale hater you love!
1 bunch lacinato (Tuscan) kale Wash the kale, then stem: grab the end of a stem in one hand, then use your other hand to tear off the leaf by pulling your fingers along the stem. Slice all the kale very thinly and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and gently massage for about 30 seconds. Keeps for one day. Serves 4
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave
¼ cup tamari almonds, roughly chopped (for gluten-free, make your own with wheat-free tamari)
8 organic unsulphered dried apricots, diced
Pinch coarse sea salt
Pinch dried red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
The wife is eating this for dinner tonight! Thanks Cathy! (BTW, are you still at the “House that Lester built”?)
This sounds really interesting. So the kale is uncooked? Just tossed in the liquid ingredients? I think I’ve only had it sauteed or steamed – which may be why it’s not my favorite green. I’ll try this recipe!
The best kale dish I’ve ever had is the Tuscan kale Caesar salad at Il Buco in NYC. They leave the leaves whole, so I have to assume they’re par-boiled.
Thanks for commenting, Steven! Most kale salads are uncooked, but the dressings soften the kale to the point where you’d swear it must be steamed or something. I’ll have to try Il Buco’s kale salad sometime.
I didn’t think it could be done but I am now a kale-lover! Can’t wait to try this at home.
Yay, Beatrix! Glad I could give you a sample of this.
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Yum!!! I made this tonight for a pot luck. I am “trying” to like kale, so have been making different recipes–this one is very successful. I was asked for the recipe and will make it again later this week for a different group of friends. Thank you
for the tamari almonds, that tamari sauce, is there any vinegar in there? I have a big intolerance to vinegar of all kinds.
No, there is no vinegar in tamari almonds. But you can also substitute regular almonds. Hope you like it!
How much in volume does one bunch of Kale make cut up? I bought a bag pre-cut and am not sure how much of it to use.