Kale Salad with Apple, Cranberries and Pecans
This is my favorite Kale salad, made with chopped Granny Smith apple, cranberries, toasted pecans and goat cheese. I love Kale! Back in the day, when Kale was on the rise as a “super food” I went through a phase of consuming Kale in every way possible.
Why I love Kale:
- Low in calories, high in fiber
- A great source for calcium and iron
- Filled with antioxidants including plenty of vitamin C and K
- Great for your liver and detoxing
- Blood cleansing
- Great source of omega -3
This is my go-to Kale Salad recipe for lunch, a snack, or a meal on the go!
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup pecans
- 8 ounces kale (I used regular curly green kale, but Deb recommends Cavolo Nero or Lacinato, Dinosaur or Tuscan Kale)
- 4 to 5 medium radishes
- ½ cup dried cranberries (or dried cherries)
- 1 medium Granny Smith apple
- 2 ounces soft goat cheese, chilled
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spread the pecans on a baking tray. Toast them until lightly golden and fragrant, about 5 to 10 minutes, tossing them once or twice to make sure they bake evenly. Remove the tray from the oven and set them aside to cool.
- Pull the kale leaves off from the tough stems and discard the stems. Use a chef’s knife to chop the kale into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Transfer the kale to a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a small pinch of sea salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands by lightly scrunching big handfuls at a time, until the leaves are darker in color and fragrant.
- Thinly slice the radishes (this is easier to do if you first chop off the root end so you can place the base of the radish flat against your cutting board!). Add them to the bowl.
- Coarsely chop the pecans and cranberries (or cherries) and add them to the bowl. Chop the apple into small, bite-sized pieces and add it to the bowl as well. Crumble the goat cheese over the top.
