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Perfect Fruity Kale Salad With Sweet And Savory Orange Balsamic Dressing
This Orange Cranberry Kale Salad is full of plump cranberries, mandarin oranges, sliced green onions, toasted pecans and toasted salted sunflower seeds. This salad has just the right amount of zip with fresh orange juice, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and more. Pour over the top of this delicious massaged kale salad and you have a wonderful full palate of flavors. This salad is great for any meal of the day. Pair it up with most any main course or lunch. Great for a presentation for Holidays and parties.
History of Fruit In Salads
As we know there are a lot of variations to fruit in salads. Salads are especially wonderful when adding different textures like nuts and crisp veggies and fruit. Even lettuce when fresh and crunchy can add that special extra crunch that people love.
We can go all the way back to the Middle Ages to find were salads took on more of a form of what we are familiar with today. The salads in this early time commonly transpired into versions of mixtures of raw and cooked topping ingredients. Lettuce was common as the base but other items such as herbs, nuts and fruits were added on. This created an adventure of a variety of salads that were interesting to the palate with new flavors and textures.
Like this salad I made for you today Orange Cranberry Kale Salad really mimics these wonderful savory, sweet, soft and crunchy salads of the past.
How To Clean Fresh Kale
Most people and even myself buy already washed and cleaned kale because it is a little work to get it clean. When I do get the kale already washed and chopped in a bag there is still work to do. Kale comes with hard ribs from the plant still on the cut leaves. It is good to get rid of these stems and hard ribs before using in a salad. The soft ribs can be used if you put them in a soup or your going to cook them down.
If you have some delicious fresh green kales leaves fill up a container with cold water. Take the kale and submerge them fully in the water. Swish and agitate the kale leaves around with your hands to remove any dirt. Rinse again and immediately drain and spin the kale to dry. It’s ready to use!
How To Make Orange Balsamic Dressing
I buy organic orange juice without pulp and measure the amount needed into a small 2 cup size bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk together and set aside before making the salad. This gives it time to mingle together. You can also use a small mason jar with a lid to shake it up in and use it that way.
If you find that the orange juice is not overly sweet and a little too acidic then add a little organic maple syrup.
How To Make Orange Cranberry Kale Salad
After taking the stems and thick ribs out of the chopped kale add it to a large bowl. Massage the kale with your hands. The kale should start to get limp, smell green and look darker.
Clean the green onions and discard any wimpy green ends and cut the roots off. Slice the green ends and add to the large bowl with the kale.
Measure out the cranberries and add to the bowl. Open and drain the organic mandarin oranges and add to the bowl.
In a small to medium skillet ( I use the American made Lodge Cast Iron Skillets) add the sunflower seed and 3 pinches of sea salt. Toss and flip the sunflower seeds around in the skillet and when they are light brown and fragrant they are ready to add to the kale salad.
In the same skillet add the pecans and roast them on medium heat. Move them around and flip them like you did for the sunflower seeds. When they are fragrant and slightly turning darker add them to the kale salad.
Mix the salad all together. Only add the dressing if you are serving right away. The dressing will wilt the salad. Add right before serving. Add half of the Orange Balsamic Dressing and save the rest for serving extra if needed in individual bowls.
I hope you love this salad as much as we do. Enjoy!
More Recipes You May Like:
Delicious Holiday Kale Salad With Cinnamon Thyme Dressing
Rainbow Chili Farro Salad With Garlic Vinaigrette
Raspberry Cucumber Salad With Pistachios And Lemon Basil Vinaigrette
Easy Delicious Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
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Orange Cranberry Kale Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 21 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Orange Cranberry Kale Salad is full of plump cranberries, mandarin oranges, sliced green onions, toasted pecans and toasted salted sunflower seeds. This salad has just the right amount of zip with fresh orange juice, balsamic vinegar, lime juice, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and much more. Pour over the top of this delicious massaged kale salad and you have a wonderful full palate of zesty fruit, nuts and garden freshness.
Ingredients
Orange Cranberry Kale Salad
- 6 cups Fresh Organic Kale, chopped, stems and ribs taken off of kale and massaged by hand
- 4 Green Onions, sliced
- 1/2 cup Cranberries
- 1 small can Organic Mandarin Oranges, drained
- 1/2 cup Pecans, roasted (add 3 pinches of salt when roasting)
- 3 Tbsp Sunflower Seeds, roasted and salted
- Orange Balsamic Dressing
- 1/2 cup Organic Orange Juice, without pulp
- 1/4 cup Organic Olive Oil or Avocado Oil, omit oil if you are making a Plant Based salad
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/8 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
Orange Cranberry Kale Salad
- Wash Kale in large bowl of cold water agitate it to get the dirt off. Chop and discard any stems or large ribs in the leaves. Put in a salad spinner take out add to a large bowl and message the kale with your hands. The kale should be smelling green and the getting darker and a little limp.
- Clean and slice the green onions and add to the kale.
- Add the cranberries and drained mandarin oranges. Add to the kale in the bowl.
- In a small skillet ( I use American made Lodge Cast Iron Skillets) on medium heat add the sunflower seeds and toast the sunflower seeds and add 3 pinches of salt. Move the sunflower seeds around continuously and flip them around. Roast until they are turning light brown. When done add them to the salad.
- In the same skillet add the pecans and toast them as well for a couple of minutes on medium heat. Roast until you can smell their sweet fragrance and slightly turning darker. Add to the salad.
- Mix all the salad together.
- In a small bowl add all the Orange Balsamic Dressing ingredients and whisk together or you can add the ingredients to a small lidded jar and shake it all together. If you are making a Plant Based salad you can omit the oil. It is still a very nice dressing without the oil.
- DO NOT ADD dressing until you are ready to serve. Add half of the orange dressing to the kale salad. Mix it all in. Save the rest of the dressing to add separately to the salad after it is served.
- Ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
The salad will wilt down after it sits for an couple of hours or over night. It is still tasty but looks like a lot less salad.
Keep for two days in a container with a lid in the refrigerator.
