This salad is simple yet fancy at the same time. The combination of cranberries, pinenuts and lemons sometimes make me dream about this salad. I know….dreaming about salad = crazy!
Pinenuts are perfect for when you want to fancy up your salad, especially if your entertaining or if you just need a midweek pick-me-up. They are super expensive though so this is more of a once-in-a-while or special occasion recipe. I know I often find myself apprehensive of using expensive ingredients I have sitting in my pantry because I feel I should save them for a special occasion, but sometimes you just have to treat yourself! Also when I think back to when I used to buy meat and how expensive even two chicken breasts were, I can usually justify spending a bit more on nuts on seeds. However, you can easily swap the pinenuts in this recipe for pumpkin or sunflower seeds, both are delicious.
The key with kale salad is to chop the kale as finely as you can. If you have only had kale salads where the kale is in larger pieces, this will literally change your world. The other secret is to let the salad sit for at least 30 minutes after you put the dressing on. Unlike other mixed greens which get soggy, kale soaks up the flavor and letting it sit for awhile lets the tough kale leaves soften up a bit. If you have leftovers this salad tastes the same the next day and makes a great packed lunch (I often grab the leftovers with hummus and pita on my way out the door).
Cranberry-Lemon Kale Salad with Pine Nuts
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 large bunch of kale, finely chopped (approx. 7 cups)
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
Dressing
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 1/8 tsp salt or Herbemare
- pinch fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Finely chop kale (see photos in blog post) and add cranberries and pinenuts
- Whisk together all salad dressing ingredients (or use a magic bullet)
- Add dressing to salad and let sit 30min before serving
Ps – Happy Halloween! I attempted a pumpkin-pie potato chip recipe after sampling pumpkin tortilla chips at costco which were amazing and I would highly recommend. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for my attempt! Maybe next time. But seriously you should pick some of these up if you can; they are available in Costco (at least in the Toronto area).
