Green Goddess Kale Salad

by Lucas
Created
From the cookbook Love Real Food

Yields: 4 servings

They say this salad is "crispy, chewy, and zingy all at once". Let's see!

Ingredients

  • 1 medium bunch curly kale (about 8 ounces), tough ribs removed and leaves chopped into bite-size pieces
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 cup seeded and chopped cucumber (about 1/2 medium)
  • 1 cup finely chopped carrots (about 3)
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped radishes (about 4)
  • 1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or more if needed
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 1/3 cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley (some stems are okay)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped green onions (1 to 2)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves or roughly chopped fresh basil or cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. To prepare the salad: Transfer the chopped kale to a big salad bowl. Sprinkle a small pinch of salt over the kale and massage the leaves with your hands by scrunching big handfuls at a time, until the leaves are darker in color and fragrant, and reduced in volume by about one-third. Add the cucumber, carrots, and radishes to the bowl.
  2. In a small skillet, combine the sunflower seeds, olive oil, and a few dashes of salt. Toast over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the seeds are fragrant and turning lightly golden on the edges, 4 to 5 minutes. Pour the seeds into the salad bowl.
  3. To make the dressing: In a food processor or blender, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, water, avocado, parsley, green onions, tarragon, garlic, salt, and several twists of black pepper. Blend or process, starting on low speed and slowly increasing to medium, until the dressing is smooth and creamy, pausing to scrape down the sides as necessary. The dressing should be pretty zippy, so taste it and blend in more lemon juice if necessary. If it needs more oomph, add up to 1/4 teaspoon more salt.
  4. When you’re ready to eat, drizzle the dressing over the salad (you might not need all of it, although I recommend adding more dressing to kale salads than you would for other salads). Toss until the salad is lightly coated in dressing. Serve immediately. This salad keeps well, chilled, for up to 2 days.