This Kale Salad

Do you have a go-to dish you make for a party? I made a salad for an afternoon Easter lunch at a flower-growing farm. They also have an orange orchard. It was a perfect day ( I got to meet my daughter, Molly's lamb), and I wanted to make a salad that held up in case it was warm. I chose this crowd favorite. Solveig was my daughter's teacher, who made up this killer salad. I added Mandarin oranges that I segmented and took the skins off each segment. They turned to mush because I was not careful but added a sweet touch. I also blanched almonds and did not use peanuts, but I did caramelize the almonds. You can dress this salad ahead and squeeze the kale so it begins to break down and is not too chewy. Wait to add avocado and the nuts! Enjoy. And if you add red onion, soak it in water for a half hour before, ( it takes out the bite.) 

Solveig’s Kale & Cabbage Salad

half a bunch of lacinato (or dinosaur!) kale chopped 

quarter to third of a head of green cabbage sliced and chopped

half a bunch of cilantro chopped 

avocado finely diced

quarter cup roasted peanuts

quarter cup carmelized almonds

Dressing: Make in a jar and shake it up! (If I make it directly in the salad bowl, I squeeze the garlic first and mash it up some more with the salt and sugar using the back of a spoon and whisk the rest of the ingredients together, then add the greens)

1clove garlic squeezed

quarter teaspoon smoked chili salt (or plain salt)

four drops toasted sesame oil

half teaspoon sugar

lemon (or lime) juice from half a lemon + a little zest

3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

olive oil

peanut or sunflower oil

(approximately half and half olive and peanut)

Should be salty sweet and sour for the best kick of flavors. The measurements are all approximations as I don’t measure anything, so taste and adjust the salt sugar and tartness. I often just add more balsamic since it is sweet and sour. You can dress the greens a bit ahead of time, but don’t add avocado and nuts until serving so the nuts are nice and crunchy. The almonds and peanuts add their own sweet and salty flavors. It is also fun to add other stuff like heirloom tomatoes or cucumbers or red onion!