I have to admit something, and I am reluctant to do so. I have a sweet tooth! No, really. I enjoy savory foods but give me a brownie or a cookie, and I am delighted with life, especially with a cookie that is still warm from the oven. I am convinced that when I get to heaven, God is going to have a cupboard full of warm, gooey brownies just for me. Oh, and they won’t add to my waistline– I know that is a benefit to heaven.
To be sure, this salad is almost as good as my heavenly cupboard full of treats. Why, do you ask? The answer is that this salad throngs with sweet additions like pomegranate and spiced pecans, combined with the crunch of the kale, which makes it a fantastic combination.
To begin assembling your salad, you will want to separate the leaves from the stems. You can use a knife or shred it with your hands. I find that using my hands is faster.
For me, this step, aside from the spiced pecans, is the most crucial part of the entire salad. I want you to pour a little bit of dressing into the bowl and massage it into the leaves. Yup, you heard me. Rubbing the leaves makes the kale softer to chew, and the overall texture of the salad is more pleasant.
Next, top off the salad with pomegranates. I separate my pomegranate using a grapefruit spoon. The serrated edges make it easy to dig out each little ruby. After I get it in a small bowl, I gently pick the white bits of flesh out of the pomegranate rubies. Rinsing them works too.
Add in feta cheese and spiced pecans, and the salad is almost complete.
Because I am a working girl, instead of making dressing from scratch, I chose to grab a pre-made dressing. Ken’s Raspberry Vinaigrette pairs nicely with the other sweet elements of this salad. Even though I used a little bit of the dressing to massage into the leaves, to punch up the flavor of the overall salad, I add a little more.
Grab a fork and dig in!
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Spiced Pecan + Pomegranate Kale Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 bundle fresh kale, torn, tough stems removed
- 1/2 cup pomegranate I have used a red beet before with terrific results.
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
Spiced Pecans
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1 cup pecans
- 1/2 cup or more Raspberry Vinaigrette
Instructions
- In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and garlic salt. Add pecans. Cook about 5 minutes or until toasted, continually stirring to prevent burning. Remove from heat. Let cool in skillet.
- While pecans are cooling, prepare the kale by taring leaves from stalks and into smaller pieces. Drizzle a little bit of dressing over leaves. Massage the dressing into the leaves by scrunching it in your hands. Working the leaves will soften the kale.
- Add more dressing and toss leaves to coat.
- To finish the salad, top with pecans, feta cheese, and pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.
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