This healthy kale salad is bursting with colorful fruits and veggies. A buttery roasted delicata squash, crunchy tart apples, cranberries, and pepitas are tossed in a tangy apple cider vinaigrette. Makes a great light dinner, or side dish for your fall table! You can find my maple apple cider vinaigrette recipe here! https://www.helloani.com/apple-cider-vinaigrette/
HOW TO MAKE A KALE SALAD
The key to making a really good kale salad is to massage the kale with olive oil, so that the leaves become soft and tender.
Simply, add your chopped kale to a bowl and drizzle it with some olive oil and a pinch of salt. Using your hands, massage the leaves until they become soft and just starts to wilt. That's it. You can now assemble your salad.
To balance out the bold flavor of the kale, I like to add a tart apple like "jazz", or "honey crisp" for crunch, and dried cranberries for sweetness. The pairing of the roasted sweet Delicata squash complements the tartness of the fruit and the kale very well. Toss the salad with my sweet and tangy apple cider dressing, add a few roasted pumpkin seeds for a delicious autumn inspired salad.
If you have never tried delicata squash; it is a winter squash variety, striped green with orange-yellow flesh that is sweet and nutty in taste. As its name suggests, it has characteristically a delicate rind. Simply cut the squash in ½ inch slices, arrange them on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Feel free to add your favorite herbs. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes. The skin, once roasted will become tender enough to eat, and there is no need to peel it. Delicious!
Recipe
AUTUMN HARVEST KALE SALAD
Ingredients
- 5 cups kale
- 1 small delicata squash - substitute with acorn squash
- 1 apple - diced (I like Honeycrip or Jazz apples)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pepitas - roasted
- 1 recipe https://www.helloani.com/apple-cider-vinaigrette/
Instructions
- 1. Cut squash into ½ to ¾ inch thick slices. Arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil, and season with salt, pepper and herbs. (Rosemary and thyme are nice) Bake at 350 °F about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and soft.2. Chop kale into bite sized pieces and add to a large salad bowl. Drizzle some olive oil, a dash of salt, then massage kale with your hands until leaves are softened and tender.3. Top the kale with roasted squash, apples, cranberries, and roasted pepitas.4. Pour apple cider vinaigrette over the salad, then toss it all together. Enjoy!
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