Kale has never been one of my favorite food, especially as the primary ingredient whether cooked or raw. I’ve had it in soups which is ok and it’s really good in green smoothies, but it only flavors these dishes. I’ve tried sauteing it and also making kale chips and no one in the family has been fanatical about either.
This recently changed! We had friends over for dinner a few weeks back and she offered to bring a salad and dessert and I served my Sweet and Spicey Asian Pork with bok choy. As luck would have it, she brought a kale salad! I was a bit worried at first and only took a small serving, but soon had seconds and thirds. The flavors mixed so well with some sweetness from the oranges, a little bite from the ginger and garlic and some spice! Truly fantastic.
My friend was gracious enough to share the recipe with me and we had it again last week. The kids each asked for seconds and I think hubby had at least three if not four servings. Which if you’ve read some of my past posts… is amazing! He is NOT a salad eater and really will only eat it if I ask him if he has had any yet or if I serve dinner with salads already dished up!
I know it was because of the Asian flare that he not only ate it, but also really enjoyed it. At the end of dinner the boys asked when we could have it again. I said I wasn’t sure and Tonchi said he would help me make it again for dinner the next night!
My dear friend Alexa created this recipe and was willing to let me share it with you! She used a couple of sites for inspiration and then went for it! She really does a great job adding a little of this and a little of that together to make fantastic dishes. In fact, when she has made something that I’d like to try and duplicate, it’s often hard to get a recipe out of her! She doesn’t use them and doesn’t record (usually) what she adds. This time, she had a feeling I would ask and she wrote it down for me! 😉
So… here it is! Try and enjoy!
Asian Kale Salad
Dressing:
¼ c olive oil
1 T honey
1 t minced ginger
¼ c rice vinegar
4 cloves garlic
2 T GF tamari
1 T toasted sesame oil
½ t hot chili sesame oil
Blend in Vitamix.
Salad:
1 head organic kale (I used dino/lacinto), ribbed and cut/torn into bite sized pieces
1 tsp salt
2 carrots, grated
½ small head red cabbage, thinly sliced
⅓ small red onion, thinly sliced
1 c fresh snow peas, julienned
2 small oranges, peeled and diced
sesame seeds
Toss kale with salt and massage. Add all other ingredients and toss. Add dressing and toss again. Let sit at least 1 hr before serving. Drizzle with sesame oil and honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds when serving.
The only thing I did differently, is that I didn’t have any spicy sesame sauce so I just added about 1/2 tsp of red curry paste and it was definitely not the same, but still super good!
If you give it a try, I’d love to know what you think and if you’ll make it again! This is kid approved in our home, I hope it is in yours as well!
Green & Grateful 