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.
Ruth wrote on January 7, 2015
This sounds a really amazing salad.
I wonder about using the maple syrup though? I try to avoid anything sweet – do you find that this can cause spikes in blood sugar or is it a more slow release sugar?
Susan wrote on January 7, 2015
Pure maple syrup, while not raw is full of nutrients. It is said to be easier on your digestion. The GI of maple syrup is 54. If you have issues with maple syrup, you can use alternative sweeteners.
Teresa wrote on January 4, 2015
This is Devine. So yummy as your stuff usually is. Can I link this on my blog as a wonderfully healthy salad? I love your site and recipes. Thank you for sharing with us.
Shari Z wrote on December 30, 2014
Hi Susan! I wanted to make your new apple/kale salad but can’t get to the recipe on Rawmazing.com. It says there is a database error. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you 🙂
Susan wrote on December 30, 2014
If you click on the link on the home page…you should get the recipe. We are having issues with the site and have been working on it all day.
Shari Z wrote on December 30, 2014
Thank you. It didn’t work, but I know it will be worth waiting for the fix.
Uros of Fine Stay Slovenia wrote on December 28, 2014
I absolutely love salad so much! This version looks very tasty! Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe!
Cindy wrote on December 26, 2014
I brought this salad to christmas dinner; it is mammoth and by far the BEST salad I have ever had. Pretty sure that I consumed half the salad myself. I will be making this again, soon and often. Thank you!!!!!
AnnaLaura Brown wrote on December 22, 2014
I wonder what it would taste like without mustard? I think this salad seems really yummy but I don’t like mustard.
Savannah Hagen wrote on December 20, 2014
OMG. I recently attended a neighborhood Christmas party and was wondering what I could bring that might appeal to everyone (vegan, raw, meat eaters) when your recipe for this amazing salad popped up! I kept meaning to try it prior to the party so I could make my adjustments (improvements) as I always do to recipes. Well, time got away from me and the day before the party I had not done my usual trial run with a new recipe. With no time left, I made the salad (doubled) exactly as you suggested. To say it was a hit would be an understatement – I am still getting requests for the recipe and I have sent them all to your website. The salad was perfect in every way, taste and texture and appearance. It was an incredible balance of sweet, tangy, crunchy…………..I could go on and on but for now I just want to say that this is a perfect, absolutely perfect, salad for the holidays. It was wonderful to bring something so fresh and delicious to a winter table and beautiful all at the same time. Thank you for a truly RAWMAZING recipe, Susan – you made me look good!
Gratefully,
Rhinda wrote on December 18, 2014
Should I massage with lemon and salt tonight, though?