Chef notes
I like to call this the wonderful “WACKY” Salad, inspired by my friend, Steph, to help me remember the tasty, nutritious ingredients. Walnuts, Avocado, Carrots/dried Cherries, Kale and a generous cup of Yum! This is easy, fun, delicious and incredibly nutritious.
Note: You can make this recipe ahead of time, which is unusual for many salads that would just get limp. Simply leave the walnuts out until ready to serve.
Ingredients
- One bunch of kale, chopped into ½-1 inch squares, stems removed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1 ripe avocado, cubed OR simply squeeze in pitted avocado
- 1/2 cup julienned carrots
- 1/4 cup dried cherries or currants
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice (juice from ½ lemon)
- 1/4 cup rough chopped walnuts, toasted
Preparation
In a large bowl with the chopped kale, add the sea salt, olive oil and honey atop the greens. Slice the avocado lengthwise in half, remove the pit and simply squeeze the avocado out of the peel into the bowl.* Using your clean hands(!), massage the avocado, salt, olive oil and honey into the greens, which naturally softens and brightens the leaves. Add the carrots and dried cherries and toss in with a spoon. Squeeze a lemon over the greens, stir and let sit for an hour or more. Top or toss with toasted walnuts and serve.
*You can also squeeze half the avocado and slice the other half into cubes to then add the cubes after stirring in the carrots.
Cook’s tip: Be sure to slice out the ribs of the kale—it does take a few extra minutes to do this, but you’ll get the best results. And enjoy the ‘hands on’ avocado-kale massage which actually helps brighten and soften the leaves (chemistry-wise, the avocado’s fat and also the motion ‘breaks open’ and releases some of the chlorophyll in the leaves making the green brighter while the harder cell walls break down a bit making it softer to chew and enjoy.)
