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This post is sponsored for #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine.
Every brunch needs a salad, and this one is hearty enough to stand up to anything you serve with it. Kale Salad with Apples, Carrots, Cheese and Capers is an easy-to-eat chopped kale salad with sweet apples and carrots, sharp cheese, salty capers, and crunchy nuts, for a perfectly balanced forkful.
We’re heading into the final days of #BrunchWeek 2018, hosted by Love and Confections and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures! I’ve joined nearly 40 bloggers from across the country to bring you more than 150 of our best brunch dishes, including cocktails, appetizers, pastries, tarts, main courses, and plenty of desserts all this week. We have amazing sponsors, and a great giveaway, too, which you can find a link to right below the recipe. Please go win something!
Tips to make a tender kale salad
Kale salads can be polarizing, can’t they? Some, like me, love them; others say kale belongs in the trash or in the animal trough. I say the secret to a successful kale salad is a couple of things…
1. Chop it finely. If you leave big leafy chunks, it will seem like you are having to chew your cud. So chiffonade it (cut into tiny ribbons). You’ll thank me for this advice.
2. Allow the dressing to sit on the kale before you put in the final finishing items that might be more delicate. Tenderness in kale is a function of a couple of things — size of leaf (ergo, cut small), heat (are you cooking it?), manual manipulation (like massaging) or time with an acid like a salad dressing. I’m not cooking it for a salad, and I can’t be bothered to massage my kale, so I let the acid in the dressing do the hard work for me. Leave it on there for 30 minutes or more if you can, and then add all the other goodies, toss and serve.
3. Something sweet. Kale can be a bit bitter, even the sweeter varieties like dinosaur / lacinato kale. But if you add something sweet — chopped dates, apple, dried cranberries, raisins or currants, etc. you’ll solve the problem. In today’s salad, I am adding apple.
How to make Kale Salad with Apples, Carrots, Cheese and Capers
Gather your ingredients. I’m using some wonderful ingredients from our sponsors this week — rainbow carrots, Easter egg radishes and lacinato kale from Cal-Organic Farms, capers from Cento Fine Foods, and Alpine Cheddar Cheese from Cabot Cheese‘s Legacy Collection — it’s a hint of Swiss and Parmesan in an aged cheddar, so it has the best of three worlds.
Chop the kale in a chiffonade (little ribbons, and then chop some more). Chop the other vegetables in a very fine dice.
Chop the cheese in a very fine dice.
Throw all the veggies and the apple into a big mixing bowl and dress very lightly, tossing to combine. Let it rest for half an hour.
Voila!
Let’s make Kale Salad with Apples, Carrots, Cheese and Capers, shall we?
KALE SALAD WITH APPLES, CARROTS, CHEESE and CAPERS: Hearty enough to stand up to anything you serve with it, this easy-to-eat chopped salad has sweet, sharp, salty and crunchy notes, for a perfectly balanced forkful.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch (6 ounces) stemmed and very finely chopped dinosaur / lacinato kale (this will be 3-4 cups) {I used Cal-Organic Lacinato Kale}
- 3-4 radishes, stemmed and finely diced {I used Cal-Organic Easter Egg Radishes}
- 3 carrots, stemmed and finely diced {I used Cal-Organic Rainbow Carrots}
- 1 apple, core, seeds and stem removed, finely diced (leave skin on)
- 2 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, cut into a fine dice {I used Cabot Alpine Cheddar}
- 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, plus 1 teaspoon caper brine {I used Cento Fine Foods Capers}
- 2 ounces toasted almonds, chopped
- Dressing
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, place kale, radishes, carrots and apple.
- Make the dressing: In a wide-mouth jar, add the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Using an immersion blender, whirl until well combined. Pour the dressing over the vegetables in the bowl and toss well. Allow to rest on the counter for at least half an hour, so the kale begins to soften.
- Add the cheese, capers and caper brine and mix well.
- Arrange salad on plates. Sprinkle nuts on top.
- Makes 3-4 larger salads, or 6 smaller salads.
Notes
Recipe source: Dorothy Reinhold | Shockingly Delicious
If you like this recipe and want to save it, pin the image below to your Pinterest board.
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Take a look at what the #BrunchWeek Bloggers are creating today!
BrunchWeek Beverages:
Voodoo Bloody Mary from Girl Carnivore
BrunchWeek Appetizers:
Antipasto Platter from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Brunch Gazpacho Shooters with Cheesy Everything Toast Dippers from The Crumby Kitchen
How to Create an Antipasto Platter from Love and Confections
Kale Salad with Apples, Carrots, Cheese and Capers from Shockingly Delicious
Spring Cobb Salad from The Barbee Housewife
BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:
Asparagus, Mushroom and Cheese Egg Cups from The Bitter Side of Sweet
Asparagus, Sausage, and Onion Quiche from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Breakfast Stuffed Avocados from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
Cheesy Ham and Asparagus Frittata from Cooking with Carlee
Ham & Cheese Hashbrown Frittata from It Bakes Me Happy
BrunchWeek Breads, Grains, and Pastries:
Banana Blueberry Cinnamon Mini Muffins from Sweet Beginnings
Cheddar Sun-Dried Tomato Biscuits from Tara’s Multicultural Table
Coconut Doughnuts from Mildly Meandering
Grand Marnier French Toast from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Sausage, Egg & Cheese Kolaches from The Spiffy Cookie
Shortcut Blueberry Cheesecake Cinnamon Rolls from Big Bear’s Wife
BrunchWeek Main Dishes:
Salmon Quiche from My Catholic Kitchen
Keto Steak and Eggs over Asparagus from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Chicken Sandwiches from Books n’ Cooks
BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:
Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tart from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Breakfast Salad from Caroline’s Cooking
Green Apple Smoothie from The PinterTest Kitchen
Herbed Asparagus Velouté from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
Roasted Asparagus & Carrots from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
Sweet Potato Hash with Pancetta, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach from The Redhead Baker
BrunchWeek Desserts:
Hazelnut Pudding Cake from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
Pull Apart Cinnamon Coffeecake with Chocolate Glaze from Family Around the Table
Pumpkin Snack Cake from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Raspberry Lime Parfaits from Eat Move Make
The photos below are what I made Monday and Wednesday for #Brunchweek. You will want to try…
Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus…
…and French Coconut Pie with Pine Nuts
and then take a look at all the other recipes my blogger pals contributed!
Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, LorAnn Oils and Flavors, Cento Fine Foods, Michigan Asparagus, Cal-Organic and Eggland’s Best for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek recipes. All opinions are my own. The #BrunchWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Seven (7) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The #BrunchWeek Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #Brunchweek posts or entry.
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Welcome to my kitchen!
At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
E-mail me: Dorothy.Reinhold@gmail.com
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Such a colorful looking salad!
It tastes so good! Great recipe.
This is a gorgeous salad….We have great minds Dorothy. We both pickled asparagus and we both offered up salads featuring kale. It was a fun week.
Wendy,
Twins! It WAS a fun week….I think brunchweek is my new favorite week of the year!
This salad looks delicious! Saving!
Kale salads are my favorite. I’m definitley trying this!
This looks delicious! We have extra capers from another recipe and weren’t sure what to do with them. And when we buy kale it’s always more than we need at once. Perfect!
Stephanie,
You can do so many things with capers! Consider them the salt in a recipe. Mashed spuds! Rice! Pizza pizzaz! Fry them in a little skillet and use them on a salad.
What a perfect addition to any brunch spread! Looks fantastic!
I like this one Looks so delicious and hearty. Definitely trying this.
I love your tips for kale! And the toppings are perfect sweet, salty and crunchy combo!
This looks like the salad of my dreams! Do you deliver?
Renee,
I will, for YOU!
This looks so healthy & fresh! Perfect Summer salad!
I love the sound of this, so many great ingredients!
This salad sounds amazing! I love the way you used all of the ingredients.
Karen,
Once you get going on a salad, you can’t stop!
Love kale and salad. Love all the freshness in this salad