Market Kale Salad
This kale salad was inspired by the pizza-centric restaurant in my neighborhood that makes amazing salads. We eat there often and I love the salad with farro, avocado, carrots, fennel and a creamy green garlic dressing.
There's a small restaurant in our neighborhood (Ragazza) known for great pizza. And yes, the pizza is on point. But, really, it's their salads I crave - substantial, always changing, made from whatever looks great at the market. I ordered a ringer of a salad the other night, and have been making a version at home in the days since combing market greens with the Ragazza spin. Here you see kale, farro, lots of avocado, carrots and fennel tossed with a creamy green garlic dressing. It's as good as it sounds. The version I've been making is down below, or you can check out the version Sharon makes with little gem lettuce here (scroll a bit).
Market Kale Salad: Prepping the Ingredients
To prep the fennel and carrots, it's worth using a mandolin if you have one. If not, no problem, just use a knife an slice very thinly. If you do too crude a cut the salad loses a bit of its finesse. I like it made with semi-pearled farro, but when I ran out of that reached for wheat berries too. Either way is good.
Make A Meal of It
It has been a bit busy around here and this sort of substantial salad is nice to be able to throw together on somewhat of a whim. To keep most of the ingredients prepped isn't a big deal (grains/dressing/carrots/ nuts)...then, it's not much of a leap to a full meal by adding a poached egg.
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Market Kale Salad
Lacinato kale is my variety of choice here.
- 2 stalks green garlic (or scallions), rinsed and chopped (~1/4 cup)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons ripe avocado
- 1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
- fresh pepper to taste
- 1 bunch kale, destemmed, torn into pieces
- 1 cup / 5.5 oz cooked farro or wheat berries (semi-pearled or whole)
- 4-5 farmers' market carrots, very thinly sliced
- 1 small bulb of fennel, transparently sliced
- 1 avocado, cut into small cubes
- a big handful of almond slices, toasted
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Make the dressing by using a hand blender or food processor to puree the green garlic, salt, lemon juice, olive oil, avocado, honey, and pepper until smooth. Taste, and adjust with more salt, or honey, or lemon juice.
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Before you're ready to serve, combine the kale with about half of the dressing in a large bowl use your hands to work the dressing into the kale, softening up the kale a bit in the process. Add the farro, carrots, and fennel, more dressing, and a couple pinches of salt, and toss again. Taste, and add the last of the dressing if needed. This is a salad I like quite heavily dressed. Add the avocados and almonds and give one last gentle toss.
Serves 2-4.
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Comments
Does it matter what kind of kale you use? Some varieties seem so stodgy that eating them raw would be hard. What kind did you use?
Gorgeous looking salad Heidi. I *heart* carrot and fennel together and also like the modest amount of grain to vegetable.
A wonderful salad, full of great flavours and textures.
Thanks for this great recipe, its one that is flexible as well. I have both fennel and kales in the garden. I am going to make it with Rainbow Lacinto instead of the dark green and barley.I am going to share thsi with a my organic food buying group, THanks for another fab recipe Heidi..you rock!
The combination kale and avocado is always a winner. It just works perfectly. Every kale salad I make always involves an avocado-citrus vinaigrette with Dijon mustard. I also like to add to quinoa but I want to try your version with farro (although it takes forever to cook!)
Hey! I think I live in your neighborhood because I just had this salad at a tiny pizza place. So good!
I just ate this last Sunday at the restaurant which must not be named. It's so delicious and was wondering how I could make it--thanks for the recipe!
Amazing beautiful and delicious salad!
Hm ... does the Chef's Special Salad come with a fresh baked breadstick? I have a guess it does :) I just got wheat berries in my CSA and have been wondering what to do with them. Now I know. Thanks for another beauty - and congratulations on the shop's success!
I have lots of kale and carrots from our CSA- thanks for the idea of how to use it!
This looks amazing! I'd probably add some sweet potatoes and maybe some goat cheese too :)
This is such a simple and fantastic-looking salad. And congratulations on launching the pop-up store. I stopped by yesterday and really loved the gorgeous photography...too bad the tiles sold out so quickly!
this is so not right now -- more october than june -- but i imagine this would be divine with cubed, caramelized sweet potatoes. also, i so love how this bowl pops up, from kinfolk to gingerbread. it's a beauty.
I love the looks of this salad! Kale is one of may favorites, and the avocados this season seem to be particularly good. I bet avocado oil would be great here too!
There is something about a kale salad that is so crave-able. I figure that means it's very, very good for you (I use the same logic with chocolate, obviously). I look forward to trying this creamy avocado dressing next time.
This sounds positively delicious! Yum!
what would be a good gluten-free option for this? wild rice? quinoa? millet? this looks delicious! can't wait to make it after the saturday farmer's market.
HS: Hi Kee - I think wild rice cooked well, until the grains burst, would be pretty great here.
That looks awesome!! I love the touch of honey for a bit of sweetness. Yummy veggie goodness. :)
sounds like a salad I would also crave! I was wondering about the green garlic stalks, do you mean the white stalks or the green leaves? As far as I recall they can often be tough (both). My guess is that you are calling for green garlic for a less pronounced garlic flavor, is it perhaps garlic scaps that you used? Thanks!
HS; They look like scallions or small spring onions. Not scapes, but I don't see why you couldn't make a version with those if you like!
Looks like a fabulous salad!