Rockin’ Raw Salad with Kale, Apple, Radish, Avocado and Ginger Honey Lemon Dressing

by Mary on May 6, 2014

 

kale salad with honey-ginger-lemon dressing, radishes, apples, and avocado

kale salad with apples, avocado, and spring radishes

“Dude, this salad is crazy. But it’s good,” said one of my young adult sons about this salad. “It’s got a lot of ginger flavor, good sweet-sour balance, avocado for some fat. The ginger overpowers the kale flavor but that’s kind of the point.”

I was pleased that the salad was a hit with at least one of my sons. I’d been inspired to make it by PCC deli’s Rockin’ Raw Kale Salad. Its dressing has ginger, lemon, and honey, but no oil, and I wondered how that would work out.

The answer is pretty much like my son said: it works out well. I’d minced the ginger as finely as I could to avoid any overwhelming pops of gingery-ness, and as life worked out I ended up leaving the dressed kale in the fridge for 24 hours before topping it with the fruits and veggies and serving it. Kale salads tend to get better with time so this may have worked to our advantage.

This was an experiment I won’t hesitate to repeat!

Rockin' Raw Kale Salad
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: salad
Cuisine: American
Serves: 3 or 4
Ingredients
For the dressing:
  • 1.5 Tbsp. ginger, peeled, minced.
  • juice of 1 small lemon (about 2 Tbsp.)
  • 2 Tbsp. high quality natural honey
  • ½ tsp. flaked salt
For the salad:
  • 1 bunch kale (about 6 oz.) washed, de-ribbed, chopped
  • ½ bunch radishes (about 4 oz.), washed, trimmed, cut into thin half-moons.
  • 1 extra large apple (about 10 oz. whole) quartered, cored, chopped
  • 1 avocado (about 8 oz. whole), peeled and pitted, cut into small thin slices.
  • 3 Tbsp. sunflower seeds
Instructions
To make the dressing.
  1. Peel and mince ginger.
  2. Juice lemon.
  3. Heat honey very briefly in microwave (to more easily pour and mix it with the lemon).
  4. Whisk together honey and lemon, add minced ginger (the salt will be added to the greens later.)
To make the salad.
  1. Wash kale, rip each leaf from its central rib, spin dry, chop.
  2. Wash radishes, trim away top and bottom, halve, cut into thin half-moons.
  3. Halve, core, peel and slice the avocado.
  4. Quarter, core, and chop the apple. Immediately toss the apples with a little of the dressing to keep them from browning.
  5. Place prepared greens in large bowl, add the remainder of the dressing, toss, sprinkle with flaked salt.
  6. Arrange greens on plates.
  7. Top with the avocado, apple, radish, and sunflower seeds.

 

{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Angie ( May 7, 2014 at 2:09 pm

This is one wholesome salad, Mary. It has all my favourite ingredients, esp. kale and avocado…can’t imagine life without them. Excellent!
Angie ( recently posted..Asparagus with Crunchy Gremolata CrumbsMy Profile

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mary May 8, 2014 at 5:50 am

Thanks Angie!

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Mireya May 8, 2014 at 5:51 am

I wish I could get my son to eat a salad like this. He picks the things he doesn’t of it, like the avocado and the radishes. I make him eat a few bites of it otherwise he’d never get used to eating them.

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mary May 8, 2014 at 5:57 am

I think when you have a kid who is willing to eat a few bites of what he doesn’t like, you are ahead of the game. Note that I said it was a hit with “at least one of my sons.” Another son ate only part of the salad, leaving most of the radishes. I thought that was OK too, he at least was willing to try.

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ATasteOfMadness May 10, 2014 at 4:09 am

I should buy more kale!! This looks fantastic!
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mary May 10, 2014 at 4:29 am

Thanks Cathleen!

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Lori May 15, 2014 at 2:19 am

My daughter loves ginger so this dressing will be be perfect for her. 🙂 Another great salad!
Lori recently posted..certainties & doubtsMy Profile

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mary May 15, 2014 at 3:18 am

Thanks Lori!

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Anna April 14, 2015 at 2:42 pm

Yes! Thank you!! I had this salad recently at a PCC Cooks event, loved it, and can’t seem to find it again – they’re always out of it. I just couldn’t remember what all was in it. Now I can just make it myself.
Thanks for sharing your recipe!

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mary April 15, 2015 at 12:35 am

Hi Anna, Thanks for leaving a comment, it makes me happy to know you’re getting use from my little blog!

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