Kale Salad With Citrus Tahini Dressing

If you had told me even two years ago that kale would be one of my top of list favourite foods, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. After growing it in the garden on a whim in 2014 I have used sooooo much of it. Smoothies, sautés, as a bed for eggs, kale chips….you name it, I’ve done it. And who doesn’t love a kale salad?

Well, non-kale converts I guess.

The trick to a good kale salad is to massage the torn up leaves for a few minutes in a bit of oil or your vinaigrette. This helps to soften the kale and makes it less tough and fibrous feeling. You can literally feel the kale soften under a bit of pressure and yet even after this somewhat damage inflicting technique, the kale still holds its shape, colour and its ability to hold a dressing.

With the onset of winter, the kale in my garden needs to be dealt with ASAP as our temps for tonight will push even kale’s frost tolerance. With a big bunch of kale and a few mandarine oranges floating around in my fridge I was inspired to put them all together and create a kale salad. This salad uses a creamy tahini dressing that I really dig. Last night it was used on a fall salad of mixed greens, beets and squash.

Though this salad could not be considered a low carb option, due to the inclusion of fruit, it is still pretty healthy and would be great for those eating in a whole food/paleo way.

I think this would make a nice fresh salad for Thanksgiving or Christmas and it could be made much lower carb by omitting the sliced fruit. The oranges definitely add some pretty color though. Roasted squash could also stand in for color, as it did last night, while still keeping it a bit lower on carbs.

Kale Salad with Citrus Tahini Dressing

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: www.miasdailydish.com

Creamy tahini and citrus, worthy of any winter salad.

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Ingredients

• 4 C torn kale leaves
• Red onion sliced very thinly
• mandarin orange persimmon, or roasted acorn squash slices
• 3 Tbsp sesame pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp tahini paste
• 1 lemon zest and juice
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp honey or a few drops of stevia you just want a nice balance, not too sweet so add stevia one drop at a time if using
• 1/2 tsp salt
• cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place kale into a large bowl and drizzle 1Tbsp of the olive oil over the leaves, massage with your hands until coated and you begin to feel the kale soften.
2. Toast seeds carefully in a hot skillet until just browned and beginning to pop. Be careful, they'll burn quickly
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a small container and blend thoroughly with an immersion blender (alternatively you can blend in a regular blender or food processor)