Recently I read a post that claimed putting fruit in salads is blasphemous. While I respect the author’s cred, I can’t agree on this. Sometimes a sweet, juicy fruit is the perfect foil for bitter greens or a pungent cheese. Think gorgonzola and grapes.
Such is the case for this easy-to-prepare salad that I made a few days ago. While it contains relatively few ingredients, each ingredient perfectly sets off the others—slightly bitter kale, creamy avocados, sweet strawberries, crunchy almonds and salty feta. The dressing is very easy to put together and again, a perfect combination of flavors to complement the salad ingredients.
If you’re using fresh kale from your garden, you may not need to massage the leaves. Fresh kale—especially the smaller leaves—is tender enough on its own. Also, if you use smaller leaves, you may not need to remove the stems. If the stems are 1/8-inch thick or less, you can leave them.
I found this recipe on a website called Two Peas in Their Pod. Based on how well this turned out, I have a feeling I’ll be exploring this website a lot more.
Meatless Monday: Kale Salad with Strawberries and Avocado
- 4 cups chopped kale, stems removed
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 cup sliced strawberries
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 1 t honey
- 1/2 t poppy seeds
- 1/8 t salt
- 1/8 t freshly ground black pepper
- Put the kale in a large bowl. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands until the leaves are darker in color and tender.
- Add the strawberries, avocado, almonds, and feta cheese. Toss gently.
- In a small jar, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, poppy seeds, salt, and pepper. Shake until mixed well.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve.