Apple and Kale Salad with Oil Free Maple Dijon Dressing
When our CSA box arrived, full of kale and apples, this lovely fall salad almost created itself. I knew I had a hit when my daughter, her best friend and her boyfriend came to town and devoured the entire bowl in one sitting! It’s all fall with maple syrup, cranberries and apples. Maple pepper pecans are the perfect topping and add a great crunch. I am going to be serving this as one of the dishes on Christmas!
Make sure you don’t skip the first step of massaging the kale with lemon juice and salt. It softens the kale but most importantly, it removes the bitter edge. It’s like magic! This salad will hold well for a couple of days. You may have a little dressing left over, but I am sure you will find a use for it! If not, it will freeze well while it waits for the next salad!
Instead of using oil in the dressing, we are using a cashew cream. Let’s face it. Getting our calories from whole foods instead of processed foods is always a better choice. So, I decided this dressing would be a whole food dressing.
Did you know that cashews have a lower fat content than most other nuts? They have antioxidants and fiber. They are a good source of copper, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, and zinc. And they have been shown to help fight heart disease! Now, why wouldn’t we choose that over oil?
Enjoy this recipe and I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!
Apple and Kale Salad with Oil Free Maple Mustard Dressing and Maple Pepper Pecans
Serves 6-8
Maple Pepper Pecans
- 1 1/2 cups pecans
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- pinch Himalayan salt
- Toss pecans in maple syrup, mustard powder, pepper and salt. Spread the nuts on a non-stick sheet and dehydrate at 115 until dry and crispy. 5 to 8 hours. Roughly chop pecans.
- Alternatively you can spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring once while baking (not raw).
*If you are not going to use these right away, put in an air-tight container.
Dressing
- 1 cup cashews, soaked until soft, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 lemon, juice from
- 2 tablespoons diced shallots
- Place all ingredients except shallots in high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Stir in shallots.
Salad
- 3 medium bunches of kale, de-stemmed and torn into bite-sized pieces
- 1 lemon, juice from
- sprinkle of salt
- 4 apples, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- Place kale in large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice and salt. Massage the lemon juice and salt into the kale for about 4 minutes.
- Add chopped apples and dried cranberries. Toss.
- Add dressing (start with half and then add to your taste) and toss well.
- Top with pecans and serve.
Rhinda Hale wrote on December 18, 2014
Susan, I’m making this for a luncheon tomorrow. My question is….can I make it tonight and let it sit in the fridge without it getting soggy? Or should I make it in the morning?
Susan wrote on December 18, 2014
If you are worried about it getting soggy, don’t dress the salad until tomorrow. 🙂
Vy wrote on December 18, 2014
I’m so glad I made this tonight. It was exciting to create because as I added each additional ingredient I realized how healthy and nutritious it would be and couldn’t wait till it was done. Plus, I’ve never massaged kale before! The straw that broke the camel’s back was when I tasted the dressing!! OMG, I was done!! Over the top delicious/nutritious!! Thank you for sharing.
Brandy wrote on December 13, 2014
Looks amazing!
Marcia wrote on December 12, 2014
YUM! Sounds sooooo good, thank you! Would you suggest what kind of apple to use? Going shopping today, maybe tonight for dinner.
Susan wrote on December 12, 2014
Just use your favorite. I would not suggest a granny smith but most anything else will work. Cheers!
Sue wrote on December 12, 2014
I’m making this today! Candied pecans are just too good to resist 🙂 Can’t wait to crunch down on this salad
Susan wrote on December 12, 2014
Hi, Sue! Enjoy!
Amanda wrote on December 12, 2014
I’m just sitting here Pinning all of your recipes to Pinterest… don’t mind me. Your food, and photos, all look beautiful, delicious, amazing… excuse me while I continue to drool and plan my future as a hermit in my kitchen making every single one of your recipes.
Susan wrote on December 12, 2014
Thanks for putting a smile on my face, Amanda!
Bettina Maria Fahlbusch wrote on December 12, 2014
Sounds soo yummy! Will make tomorrow! 🙂 thanks!!
Susan wrote on December 12, 2014
Thank you, Bettina!
Dawn Thomas wrote on December 11, 2014
Looks delicious and the dressing sounds like a good one as well. Thanks for sharing!
Susan wrote on December 12, 2014
Thanks, Dawn!
Jamie wrote on December 11, 2014
I am making this tomorrow night. Sounds fantastic!
Susan wrote on December 12, 2014
I hope you love it!