Festive Shredded Kale Salad

Made this for a lighter option at the church party. It went over really well- as long as I didn't mention at first what leafy green was in the salad until after they tried it.  It's nicely balanced to serve as a main course if you're so inclined. Sliced radish might nice in here, something crunchy. The favorite part seemed to be the dressing. It's a nice all around dressing so it can used on most salads, I would think.

I would definitely eat this the day of. I tried to have leftovers for dinner the next night when DH went to the church's chili cook-off but the garlic was too pungent. If you really like garlic, go for it but even I have my limit and I think garlic bread is the best thing ever (as long as there's no cheese.) I think baking the pecan crumbles into a crouton might be nice, or it might be overkill. That's an experiment for another day.



Based off of Oh She Glows' Superfood Crunch Salad and Best Shredded Kale Salad
For 2 dinner salads:

Pecan Crumbles:
1 C pecan, toasted
1.5 T nutritional yeast
1 T olive oil
2 pinches salt

Dressing:
2 cloves garlic
1/4 C lemon juice
3 T olive oil
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground pepper
Dash cinnamon
1 T apple cider vinegar
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 t maple syrup
1 t Dijon mustard, smooth

Salad:
1 C dried cranberries
8 C kale, a tough variety such as Curly Leaf or Cavolo Nero (Lacinato, dinosaur, etc)

1 C hemp hearts

1. Shred kale (minus stems) in food processor or via chef's knife. I used the slicing disk on our Cuisineart processor.
2. Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Toss kale in dressing and let it sit at least 30 minutes, no more than a day.
4. Process or chop the pecans until pea-sized. Process with nutritional yeast, oil, and salt until it forms coarse crumbs.
5. Combine pecan crumbles, cranberries, hemp hearts, and kale before serving.