I never used to like raw kale (what is wrong with me?!!)…that is, until I discovered making it this way! I owe it to superb Chef Jeanie Roland, whose lovely restaurant in Westerly, Rhode Island David and I happened to go to for Valentine’s day, this year. I cannot say enough how special and innovative, not to mention filled with love, every one of her dishes were! In any case, one of the dishes that we ordered that evening was her raw kale and lentil salad and …I just loved it! Of course I loved her special vinaigrette, and of course I loved her pairing with the lentils and little shredded carrots but really, I realized that the reason why I loved the raw kale this time around was simply because she had chopped it very finely! Hers was almost shredded it was so fine, and it made all the difference in the world! So, when I got back home, I decided to give it a try and created this whole new refreshing salad for Cuisinicity.
The combination of the sweet & sour apple cider vinaigrette, fresh grated apple and chopped hazelnuts (you can also use hempseeds) with the finely chopped kale is absolutely superb! I now use this salad as a foundation: by that, I mean that I like to “build on it” and make it more of a centerpiece all-in-one meal (how wonderful is that?!) so I can add some grains and legumes or beans to it for protein–French lentils or quinoa or farro blend beautifully in this salad–and of course more thinly sliced or grated veggies such as carrots, fennel, radishes… anything goes! You can use any type of fresh kale, you can’t go wrong! This year, we will be adding lacinato kale to our vegetable garden so we can have it always fresh and ready to pick!
- 1 bunch fresh kale, rinsed & finely chopped
- 1 apple, rinsed, skin on, coarsely grated
- ¼ cup chopped hazelnuts or hempseeds
- Dressing:
- 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbsp 100% apple cider
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Pour dressing over the remaining ingredients and gently stir.
Made tonight. Delicious. Made a meal in one by adding: quinoa, chickpeas celery, carrots, onions & vegan feta cheese. Didn’t have apple cider so used apple juice. Apple was Granny Smith. Next time I’ll use 2 apples. Will make again.
Made this for dinner and enjoyed it again, chilled, for breakfast – it was that good. Thanks Catherine
Yay John! it’s so nice to hear from you as always! 🙂
Hello Catherine, this recipe sounds lovely. What could I substitute for the apple cider? I would rather not buy a whole bottle of cider for just two tablespoons, and we won’t drink it.
Hi Margo,
I understand completely, but because there is nothing else that I found that gives it that perfectly sweet yet tangy wonderful taste, what I had to do for myself, for the exact same reason as you, is buy one of those single serving bottle of apple cider and keep it in my fridge for 2-3 weeks (it really keeps amazingly well, you just have to shake it up when you use it), by which time, I have had ample time to use it in many dressings. I hope that’s helpful! 🙂
Thank you….I have never seen single serving sizes, only quart or larger. I will look for them.
You re welcome, Margo!
here is an example: https://www.martinellis.com/products/apple-cider/ but I have also gotten mine at the health food store in the refrigerated section.
I’ve frozen a jar of apple cider in freezer. It’s easy to thaw it just enough to get a few tablespoons when needed.
What a fantastic idea Judy!! I will do the same!! Thank you!!!
Catherine:
A friend forwarded me a link to this kale salad. How much kale, either by volume or weight, do you recommend for this recipe? “One bunch” of kale has a wide variation in quantity at my grocery store depending on the variety of kale. Plus, quantity is lost once the stem and veins are removed from the kale leaves.
Hi Chuck, so nice to have you at the Cuisinicity table! You are absolutely right about the variation in Kale and I will make sure to weigh it next time I am at the market so I can tell you more precisely. Frankly, what I do for my own family is pick whatever variety of kale looks the best that day and just get a sense of what I need, which, once finely chopped, ends up being about 6-7 cups. That’s just about right for the amount of dressing called for in the recipe to coat the kale perfectly so that it’s seasoned nicely. I know this is not as helpful for you right now but once you taste this salad, you will know exactly what I mean! I promise I’ll get back to you! 🙂
Hi again Chuck! I had a chance to weigh a bunch of Kale, I like the curly variety, but as I said, I have done with all varieties, and it weighed
0.60 lbs. I do get rid of the stem but I keep the vein as well and just chop it all very fine. It’s perfect that way! Please let me know if that helped! 🙂
Catherine:
Thank you for remembering my question, and for the follow up.
Chuck Streamer
My pleasure! 🙂
Catherine I was fooling around one night with some left overs. I had made this with walnuts in stead of hazel nuts, so what I did was, I took some warm quinoa, put some salad on top (cold) warmed the dressing a little & poured it on top. Delish !!! I use this dressing quite a bit !!
Sounds wonderful Tracey! 🙂
Love this recipe. I used pecans since that’s what I had and added fennel. It was delicious. My 8 year had seconds. I served it with quinoa and the combination was great. Thanks for the great recipes that you continue to share.
LOVELY Iris!!! It’s truly my pleasure!
I grow three kinds of kale (organically of course) and am always looking for new recipes to try. How simple this sounds! And better yet: chopping the kale into smaller pieces…why didn’t I think of that? As a newcomer to your site, I’m looking forward to trying all your vegan recipes.
YAY Penny!!!
A BIG WELCOME to the Cuisinicity table!! I think you are going to LOVE this little recipe…and many others, I hope, of course! 🙂
I love Kale and make a similar salad. Will try it with the hazelnuts! YUM
This looks wonderful. Quick question though – Do you serve immediately, or let it “marinate” a bit, maybe even massaging the dressing in to the kale? I make a kale, cabbagge, and carrot salad with sesame oil dressing fairly frequently, and find it to be so much tastier after letting it sit in the fridge overnight!
Hi Tanya, I serve it right away but what’s also nice is that it keeps well refrigerated the next day too!
This was delicious! Problem is, I had to enjoy it with a friend since my husband is violently allergic to hazel nuts. Which nut (as far as we know, he is not allergic to the most commonly enjoyed nuts) would you recommend for a substitute? Many thanks!
Thank you Candace! Almonds or walnuts would be a lovely substitution too! 🙂
I´ll admit that I never eat kale in raw form. Why is that? I love this idea, especially paired with hazelnuts. Thank you!
You are so welcome Denine! 🙂
This looks delicious!
Do you recommend a certain type of kale for this recipe, or does it matter?
Any kind you’d like Kristin, as long as you chop it finely! 🙂
Thanks Catherine,
I made this the other night using red kale and tossed in 1/4 c. of currents as well, my family loved it, it was really delicious! ☺
That sounds delicious Kristin! 🙂
Getting my grocery list ready–adding more kale and hazelnuts to give this a try!
Wonderful Carleen! You won’t be disappointed!!! 🙂
Oooo!! Looks delish !! I’m heading to the store now !!
HAHAHAH Tracey, you are so cute!! 🙂 let me know how you love it!!
Catherine Katz !!! I can not stop eating this salad. I Love It !!1 I even had a spoon full before I went to bed last night!!! I added red quinoa with it for lunch, I made sure to have it for dinner last night. Guess what I’m having for lunch today!!! lol 🙂
HAHAHAHA!! THAT’S WONDERFUL Tracey!!!! What a great salad to be “addicted” to!! 🙂
Catherine the dressing is wonderful !! It goes great with other salads as well. I made some for my cousin, she swore I bought it. I made it in 5 seconds, she kept looking for the bottle. hahahaha !! 🙂
HAHAHA Tracey, I just love your comments!:)
Looks so delicious!! I’ve been super into kale salads lately…. can’t wait to try this!!!
YAY MY CORINDA!!!!! Doesn’t it look so yummy?!!! 🙂
Regarding my previous message, no need for clarification. I just realized the science of taste behind these two ingredients. Looking forward to trying this recipe. As always many thanks for your great recipes and wonderful spirit! -Sheila-
Hahah OK Sheila! It’s just a wonderful “sweet & sour” little dressing which is perfect to balance out the tartness of the raw kale. I hope you love it too! 🙂
This recipe looks wonderful! You mention adding apple cider vinegar, and pure apple cider vinegar. (5 tablespoons total) Would appreciate clarification. Many thanks.-Sheila-