Kale Harvest Salad Recipe with Orange Dijon Vinaigrette
Kale Harvest Salad is a perfect combination of autumn fruits and vegetables. Featuring kale as the star ingredient in this salad, along with roasted squash, dried cranberries, crisp apples, crunchy nuts, and seeds, creates a bowlful of goodness.
I first tasted this salad at a stand at our local farmers market. New Seasons Market, which is a high-end grocery store featuring healthier food options was sampling this kale salad. Lucky for me they were also handing out their recipe. I really enjoyed the squash with the sweetness of the dried cranberries and apples mixed in with the salad. The loaded harvest salad was drizzled with an Orange Dijon Vinaigrette as the finishing flavor.
Get creative and adapt with your favorite fall vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. With Thanksgiving around the corner, serving this refreshing kale salad would make a nice side dish to counteract all the heavier foods.
More outstanding Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes.
Learn all about the health benefits of Kale and find more Kale recipes.
- 1 delicata squash, halved with seeds scooped out and discarded (about 2 cups)*
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
- 1 bunch of Kale, stems removed and chopped (about 6 cups)**
- 1 cup couscous, cooked (follow package directions)***
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 2 cups apples, chopped (about 2 apples)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, extra-virgin
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons shallots, finely minced (can substitute green onions)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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Cut squash into 1/2 inch segments. Toss in olive oil, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper. Spread the squash segments on a baking sheet and place in oven to roast for approximately 15 to 25 minutes until the squash is tender.
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In a medium skillet, over medium heat, toast hazelnuts for a few minutes until golden brown and fragrant. Then remove from heat. Watch closely to make sure the hazelnuts do not burn!
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In a medium sized bowl, add the cut up apples. Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss together until apples are coated with lemon juice. (This will help prevent the apples from browning.) -
In a large bowl add kale, hazelnuts, couscous, dried cranberries, and apples; toss gently to combine.
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When ready to serve, toss the salad with the Orange Dijon Vinaigrette (see recipe below) and serve immediately.
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In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, orange juice, mustard, shallots, salt, and black pepper until fully combined.
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You can refrigerate salad ingredients and dressing separately for up to 5 days.
* Skin is tender and edible for delicata squash. Can substitute acorn or butternut squash with cooked squash scooped out.
** Kale leaves: Wash, dry, and cut out the tough center ribs and stems. Chop or tear all the prepared kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and put them in a medium-sized mixing bowl. The center rib is edible, though fairly fibrous. The leaves can be eaten raw, sauteed until wilted, simmered with a soup, or even roasted until crisp (you can also freeze and save the stems to use in stir-fries, sauces, or soups).
*** Prepare couscous, by pouring 1/2 cup boiling hot chicken broth into 1/2 cup of dried couscous in bowl. Stir together, cover and let sit for about 5 minutes.
