Sunday, February 23, 2014

Simple Kale Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette - Vegan & Gluten Free

I am sure we could all use a little more leafy green veggies in our diet.  Lately I have been trying to work more raw foods into our diet and have been playing with kale salads.

I think I've come up with a nice combination of kale and dressing.  I served this salad a few times with steamed tempeh on the side for a complete meal at dinnertime.  I just drizzled a little leftover dressing over the tempeh when serving.   I have also made it with a few different veggie add-ins such as brown mushrooms.  It makes a great lunch on its own too, just put the dressing in a separate container until ready to eat, then mix.


SIMPLE KALE SALAD WITH PEANUT VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS:

1 large Carrot, julienned or cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup Red Onion, slivered or diced
1 bunch Kale
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 Tbsp all natural Peanut Butter
1/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Lime or Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp pure Maple Syrup
1-1/2 tsp minced Garlic
5 - 1/8inch slices fresh Ginger Root
        Sprinkle of Black Pepper and Sesame Seeds to garnish

DIRECTION:

1.  Cut kale into bite size pieces as you remove the leaves from the woody stems.  Wash and spin dry kale pieces and place in large mixing bowl.  Gently, and with both hands, massage the kale for a few seconds to soften the leaves.  You may notice it becomes a slightly brighter green color.

2.  Add carrots, red onion and whatever other veggies you may want.

3.  In food processor or high speed blender (I used a Vitamix), process the olive oil, peanut butter, vinegar, lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, garlic and fresh ginger until smooth and creamy.

4.  Drizzle part of the dressing over the salad.  Start with about half of the dressing since whether you use the entire batch will depend on how big your bunch of kale was, what other veggies you may have added, and how much dressing you like.  Stir with salad tongs or a large spoon or fork.  Add more dressing if desired.    I was making two dinner portions and used just over 2/3 of the dressing.

5.  Plate salad and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and sesame seeds if desired.


On a side note, I purchased a counter top dehydrator yesterday.  I have my first batch of kale chips in there now. I will let you know if they turn out.

- Bon Appetit

"There are two types of people; those who eat kale and those who should." - Bo Muller-Moore
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10 comments:

  1. Love this recipe. Kale is a very traditional German veggie, and I use various recipes (cooked, steamed, pan fried and oven baked) but never tried it raw.

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    1. It is yummy raw. Just remember to massage it a bit so it is more tender and it takes any bitterness away. I believe it is over 40% protein too.

      Raw is nice as it doesn't have heat to take any of the micronutrients away

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  2. Mmm, dinner! Though I don't have a full bunch of kale so I may add some broccoli.

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    1. Thank you! It made a wonderful dinner. I added some grape tomatoes, celery and chopped walnuts as I only had 1/2 a bunch of kale. I've never had raw kale in a salad before.

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    2. So glad you liked it. It is so simple to make and versatile as far as what veggies you have on hand. I like the dressing I came up with. If you find it too tart just cut back on the vinegar a little. It helps aid in digestion though.

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  3. I've had kale chips and cooked kale but I'm not sure about salad. I might mention it in a roundabout way to the cook some day when I'm washing dishes and see what she thinks. Maybe.
    By the way why does everybody "plate" food these days? I guess we plebs can't serve it anymore?

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    1. I don't always plate the food, but when I am just making enough for the two of us with no leftovers I will sometimes. Or sometimes I'll portion out our lunches for the next day then put the rest on the table or plate it. I think it just depends on what it is.

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  4. Trobairitz:

    I think I need some of your Kale salad. I gained 2 lbs yesterday and I only had one meal. I was doing so well to dropping half a pound a day for nearly a week. Back to salad tonight but I find kale to tough and has an aftertaste

    bob
    A weekend photographer

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you massage the kale it will take the toughness and any bitterness out. There are also different varieties and some may be more bitter than others.

      Your body may be needing more than one meal a day and is hoarding weight if it doesn't know when it's next meal is arriving. Most raw veggies are low calories. Eat some carrot sticks with peanut butter or something during the day. Even mushrooms are good to nosh on as a snack.

      We weigh every day and depending on what we're up to and our bathrooms habits weight can fluctuate a few pounds. They are called transitory pounds and come right back off.

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    2. Trobairitz:

      I know all about hording weight but I don't want to horde weight anymore

      bob
      A weekend photographer

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