Winter Kale Chopped Salad

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This Winter Kale Salad is chock-full of apples, avocado, dates, dried cranberries, toasted pecans and crumbled blue cheese. It's tossed with a honey balsamic dressing to create a sweet, crunchy, incredibly satisfying side dish.

Cook Time20

Total Time20

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Valerie Brunmeier

Ingredients

Kale Salad:

1 bunch lacinto Tuscan kale de-stemmed and chopped (approximately 6 cups)
⅓ cup pecans
1 small apple chopped
1 avocado chopped
4 dates pitted and chopped
¼ dried cranberries
¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Rinse, drain (or spin in salad spinner) the chopped kale. Place it in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
To make the dressing - Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon, and garlic. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and continue to whisk until slightly thickened and emulsified. Season to taste with pepper. The dressing can be quickly and easily made in a food processor. Just add all the ingredients and process for a minute or two until creamy.
Pour the dressing over the kale and toss well to be sure all of the kale has been coated. Set aside so dressing can begin to break down and soften the kale while you work on remaining ingredients.
Place pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 4 to 5 minutes or until nicely toasted. Transfer pecans to a cutting board and coarsely chop and set aside to cool completely.
Add chopped apple, avocado, dates, and dried cranberries to the dressed kale and toss to combine. Sprinkle salad with toasted pecans and blue cheese and serve.

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