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I feel like there are all kinds of garden vegetables that I call “my favorite” when I talk about them.
You’ve probably heard me say that fresh tomatoes are my favorite, I’m pretty sure at some point or other I’ve said the same thing about green beans. I love all kinds of peppers, and putting fresh cilantro on all kinds of things makes me really happy.
So, it seems a bit cliche to tell you in this post that kale is “my favorite” … so let’s just say I love fresh vegetables from the garden!
Anyway, every growing season is different, and sometimes certain things do better than others. I’m not the primary gardener in our house, but a variety of things come into play. Rainfall, heat, pests, and honestly sometimes it just feels like the attitude of the dang plants.
Things We Do with Kale
But, we almost always have good luck with kale. We do a few different things with it. Often, we cook big pots of it and season it lightly with salt and pepper to eat as an easy veggie side or toss into pasta, on pizza, and more. And, sometimes we cook and freeze it to be used later in this same way. A relatively new way we have been preserving it is by dehydrating it in my Excalibur 9-Tray Food Dehydrator. It’s great for mixing into sauces and soups throughout the winter.
But, what I wanted to share with you today is how we make our kale salad. If you do an Internet search for kale salad you will find lots of varieties – some are similar to the way I make mine, and some are a bit different. This is how we like to make it. I hope you enjoy it too!
Kale Salad with Onion Poppyseed Dressing
Equipment
- One small and one large mixing bowl, and spoon(s)
- Cutting board and knife
- Food processor to pulse nuts
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
Onion Poppyseed Dressing
- 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Salad Ingredients
- 8 cups finely chopped kale
- 1/2 cup thin red onion slices, halved or quartered
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans), or toasted pepitas or sunflower seeds
Instructions
Onion Poppyseed Dressing
- Mix the dressing ingredients together in a separate bowl, set aside.
The Salad
- Finely chop the (washed and dried) kale and put it in the large mixing bowl. If you don't want to use 8 full cups of kale, you can use broccoli slaw and/or shaved Brussels sprouts for some of the 8 cups. We usually just make it with all kale.
- Cut the onion in half and thinly slice; add to the mixing bowl.
- Stir the vegetables in with the dressing, keeping in mind that the water content of vegetables is sometimes different - more or less dressing or vegetables may be needed depending on your preference. It is usually easier to add more dressing if it's dry than it is to find more vegetables to add later if it's too wet.
- Chop and/or toast the nuts (depending on what you are using) and gently stir them and the dried cranberries into the salad.
- It works best to make this at least a few hours before serving so the flavors can combine and the salad can chill. It stays okay in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, after that the dressing tends to get watery.
Notes
