Massaged Kale, Apple and Cranberry Salad – Thanksgiving Sides
Tender, clean massaged kale leaves are feature in this salad and enhanced with chopped tart apples, sweet dried cranberries, crunchy pepitas, and nutty Manchego. The salad is brought together with a sweet and seasonal apple cider vinaigrette.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: kale salad, massaged kale salad
Servings: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette:
¾cupfresh apple cider
1whole clove garlic
2sprigs fresh thyme
1tablespoonapple cider vinaigrette
1teaspoonDijon mustard
⅓cupextra virgin olive oil
Coarse Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
For the salad:
2bunches kalewashed, stemmed and torn into bite-size pieces
Juice of 1 lemon
2tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
¼teaspooncoarse salt
2small appleschopped into 1'' pieces (recommend Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Pink Lady)**
½cupdried cranberries
⅓cuproasted pepitasI buy mine pre-roasted in the bulk section of grocery store
½cupshredded manchego cheese
Instructions
For the vinaigrette:
In a medium saucepan, combine the cider, garlic, thyme, and cider vinegar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until the liquid is reduced to ¼ cup.
Transfer cider mixture to a bowl and whisk in the Dijon mustard. Add the oil in a slow, steady stream while whisking until it is all incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Vinaigrette can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
For the salad:
Combine the kale, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in a large bowl. Massage the liquid into the kale leaves with your fingers for about 2-3 minutes until the leaves start to look dark and shiny. The volume of the bowl will be reduced by about ⅓. This can be done up to 1 day ahead, store kale covered in the refrigerator.
To assemble the salad, add the apples, cranberries, pepitas, and manchego to kale in a serving bowl. Add the apple cider vinaigrette and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
**If you pre-chop your apples, be sure to toss them in lemon juice to prevent browning.