Is it just me, or does it seem like the kale salad has gone out of style? For a while there, the internet was a kale-crazy place to be, but it seems to have fallen out of favor due to cauliflower salads, roasted squash salads, and even pasta salads. While I was pondering this important life issue, I realized that it had not only been a while since I’d posted a kale salad recipe – it had been a while since I’d even made a kale salad for myself… so I thought – let’s bring it back(!) with this super fresh, colorful, rainbow kale salad recipe.
The guest star of this recipe is that creamy carrot ginger dressing that you see in the photo above. Roasted carrots get blended with ginger and tangy rice vinegar. While you have the oven on, roast the chickpeas. They add a nice substantial bite to go along with all of the fresh, raw veggies in this salad.
I feel healthier just looking at all that kale! Oh, how I’ve missed you, kale salad!
The first trick to creating your kale salad is to massage the kale so that the bite-sized leaves wilt down by about half.
The second is to incorporate a lot of contrasting textures. I went with a combination of soft dried cranberries, creamy avocado, and crispy pepitas in addition to the fresh grated & sliced vegetables.
Layer everything in (this is your Insta-worthy moment!) then toss and douse it all with the carrot ginger dressing. Serve the salad right away, or pack it up for lunches throughout the week. It can be stored dressed since kale leaves are so sturdy. If you’re packing this for multiple days, I would keep the avocado separate and add it to the salad before you leave for work.
If you have extra carrot-ginger dressing, save about 1/4 cup of it to use as a dipping sauce for the recipe that I have coming up on Wednesday.
Rainbow Kale Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- ½ cup chopped carrots
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch curly kale, stems removed, leaves torn
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small carrot, grated
- 1 small red beet, grated
- ½ watermelon radish, very thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- ¼ cup pepitas, toasted
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Make the dressing and roast the chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the chickpeas with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle with pinches of salt and pepper. Place the carrot pieces for the dressing in their own corner on the baking sheet to roast alongside the chickpeas. Roast for 25 to minutes, or until the chickpeas are browned and crisp and the carrots are soft. Set the roasted chickpeas aside. Transfer the carrots to a blender and add the water, olive oil, rice vinegar, ginger, and salt. Blend the dressing until smooth and chill in the fridge until ready to use.
- Place the kale leaves into a large bowl and drizzle with the lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Use your hands to massage the leaves until they become soft and wilted and reduce in the bowl by about half.
- Add the carrot, beet, watermelon radish, half of the cubed avocado, cranberries, pepitas, a few more good pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper, and toss. Drizzle generously with the carrot ginger dressing. Top with the remaining avocado, more dressing, the roasted chickpeas and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Season to taste and serve.
– Reserve about ¼ cup of the dressing to use as a dipping sauce for Wednesday’s recipe.
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