Is it me, or does it seem like the coleslaw has gone out of fashion? The internet was a kale-crazy place for a while, but it seems to have fallen out of favor because of cauliflower salads, roasted squash salads, and even pasta salads. Thinking of this important life problem, I realized that it wasn't just a while since I posted a kale salad recipe - it had been a while since I even made a kale salad for myself ... so I thought - let's bring it back (!) with this super fresh, colorful rainbow kale salad.
The guest role of this recipe is the creamy root ginger dressing that you see in the photo above. Roasted carrots are mixed with ginger and spicy rice vinegar. While you turn on the oven, roast the chickpeas. They add a nice solid bite to go with all fresh, raw vegetables in this salad.
I feel healthier when I look at all that kale! Oh, I missed you, coleslaw!
The first trick to make your kale salad is to massage the kale, so that the bite-sized leaves are about half as small.
The second is to incorporate many contrasting structures. I went with a combination of soft dried cranberry's, creamy avocado, crispy roasted chickpeas and crispy pepitas in addition to the fresh grated and sliced vegetables.
Layer everything in (this is your Insta-worthy moment!) Then throw and dous it all with the root ginger dressing. Serve the salad immediately, or pack it for lunch during the week. It can be stored because kale leaves are so sturdy. If you pack this for several days, I will keep the avocado separate and add it to the salad before you go to work.
If you have extra root-ginger dressing, store about 1/4 cup of it to use as a dipping sauce for the recipe I have on Wednesday.
- ½ cup roasted carrots (from about ¾ cup raw carrots)
- ⅓ to ½ cup of water
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
- ¼ teaspoon of sea salt
- 1½ cups cooked boiled chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzle
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 bunch of kale, stems removed, leaves torn
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small carrot, grated
- 1 small beetroot, grated
- ½ watermelon radish, very thinly sliced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
- ¼ cup of pepitas, roasted
- 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Make the dressing and roast the chickpeas: Preheat the oven to 200 ° C and cover a large baking sheet with baking paper. Throw the chickpeas with a dash of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the carrot pieces for the dressing at their own angle on the baking sheet to roast next to the chickpeas. Roast for 25 minutes, or until the chickpeas are brown and crispy and the roots are soft. Set aside the roasted chickpeas. Transfer the carrots to a blender and add water, olive oil, rice vinegar, ginger and salt. Mix the dressing until it is smooth and let it cool in the refrigerator until it is ready for use.
- Place the kale leaves in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of olive oil and a few pinches of salt. Use your hands to massage the leaves until they are soft and withered and reduce about half in the bowl.
- Add the carrot, beetroot, watermelon radish, half of the diced avocado, cranberries, pepitas, a few good pinches of salt and a few peppers and toss. Drizzle generously with the root ginger dressing. Top with the remaining avocado, more dressing, the roasted chickpeas and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Season and serve.
- Save about ¼ cup of the dressing to use as a dipping sauce for Wednesday's recipe.
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