Kale Asparagus Salad with Raspberry Dressing
Have you ever tried massaging your kale leaves? That’s what you will be doing today and don’t you dare skip over this step. It is essential for the final result, because massaging the kale leaves will soften the texture of the leaves.
What’s awesome about kale salads is that as a dressed salad they can survive way longer than other leaves without wilting or becoming mushy. Back in the day when I used to have to go to an actual office I would regularly take kale salad for lunch because it would still be nice and crunchy. Nowadays packing lunch seems like a thing of the past, but the lesson to take from this is that if you have leftovers you can easily save them for next day as the kale will hold.
I’ve also left the asparagus raw in this salad and yes, it’s safe to eat raw. They are sliced thinly on a diagonal and add a nice crunch to the salad. Asparagus is packed with nutrients like, fiber, folate and vitamin A, C and K. It can also help improve digestion.
I think this will pair nicely with soft goat cheese. At the moment I’m not eating dairy, so if you do try it with goat cheese let me know how it was.
Kale Asparagus Salad with Raspberry Dressing
Equipment
- Immersion Blender
Ingredients
Salad Mix
- 100 gram asparagus
- 150 gram kale
- olive oil
- salt
- handful pistachios chopped
Dressing
- 130 gram raspberries
- ¾ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- De-stem and cut the kale into small pieces.
- Place kale in a large bowl and pour olive oil and a little salt on top. Time to get your hands dirty and massage the kale for 5 minutes. This will soften the leaves and make it nicer to eat. Add more olive oil if necessary. You will feel the leaves getting softer between your fingers. Don't overmassage, you don't want them to wilt.
- Snap the woody bottom of the asparagus off and slice thinly on a diagonal. Place the asparagus in the bowl together with the kale.
- Use an immersion blender to purée the raspberries.
- Add the honey, white wine vinegar and blend well.
- Add half of the olive oil and incorporate into the mixture. Add the remaining olive oil add salt and black pepper to taste. It will make 1-1¼ cup dressing. You can transfer it to a jar or bottle to use in the coming days.
- Drizzle the dressing over the kale and asparagus, mix everything well.
- Top off with pistachios and enjoy.