Pomegranate, Crunchy Walnut & Kale Salad
The perfect kale salad that will become a regular occurrence in your household. It’s not only quick and easy to put together, but it’s also super healthy, nutritious and shall I state the obvious beauty of it too?
There’s so much hype around kale lately, and I think it’s great that people are eating it more. But I think some of you get put off because you don’t know how to prepare it. Trust me, it’s super easy and once you get the hang of it, you will be adding it to everything.
One of my other favourite ways to enjoy it is to add it to stews like this hearty mung bean stew or this immune-boosting bean soup.
How to prepare kale
If you choose to eat it raw, it’s important to soften the kale. To essentially massage it so that it’s not so chewy, bitter and unpleasant.
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I do this by adding salt to the cut kale in a bowl by squeezing and rotating it for a few minutes. This process will make the kale much easier to chew and digest.
See the photo below to demonstrate what kale looks like before and after massaging it. It will halve in size and become softer.
Can you eat tuscan kale raw?
You sure can! As long as you massage it with salt as I mentioned above, you’re good to go!
When I first tasted this kale salad, I fell in love. It was simple yet so delicious! It had the perfect balance of flavours with the softness of the massaged kale leaves, sweet bursts of pomegranates and crunchy nutty texture of the walnuts.
I had the idea to make the walnuts extra crunchy, so I candied them in some rice malt syrup. It worked perfectly!
I love it as a side salad to pretty much anything. Last night I had it with some quinoa, roasted pumpkin and tahini dressing.
Hope you enjoy this recipe and add it to your salad rotation. It’s also a great salad to put together for any holiday feast you might have. It will look stunning at the dining table.
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Quick & Simple Vegan Lentil Salad
- Rainbow Falafel Salad
- Spiced Carrot & Millet Salad
- Vegan Red Rice Salad with Tahini Dressing
- Mediterranean Pearled Couscous Salad
- Gluten-Free Tabbouleh with Quinoa and Pomegranate
- Easy Vegan Tomato Tarts with Pesto
If you try this recipe, let me know! We’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below. If you want to go that extra mile, tag us on Instagram or share your photo of the recipe on Pinterest.Â
Pomegranate, Crunchy Walnut & Kale Salad
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
This kale salad is super simple to make and has a great combination of savoury, sweet, soft, and crunch. It can be served as a main or a side.
Ingredients
- 3 bunches of flat-leaf kale (dinosaur/Tuscan kale is best)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small pomegranate (around ¾ cup seeds)
- ¾ cup / 80g walnuts, chopped into quarters
- ¼ cup / 85g rice malt syrup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (balsamic vinegar will also work)
Instructions
- To prepare the kale, hold the bottom end of the stalk and push the leafy part off the stalk away from you. You will be left with the kale stalks at the end. Don’t throw them out, it’s perfect for juicing or chopping finely in a stir fry.
- Chop the kale into thin strips and combine in a bowl with the salt.
- Massage and rotate the kale for around 2-4 minutes until you start producing some juice. You will notice that the leaves are becoming wet and a little soggy.
- For the walnuts: In a small saucepan, add the walnuts and fry for a couple of minutes until they start to brown a little.
- Add in the rice malt syrup and simmer on low heat for around 2-3 minutes.
- Once the rice malt syrup has been bubbling for 1-2 minutes, turn it out on a baking paper lined tray and spread the walnuts evenly to cool.
- Wait for around 5 minutes for them to turn hard and break them up before adding to the kale.
- For the pomegranate, use your paring knife to remove the flower from the top. Cutting at an angle, remove a cone of pith from below the flower without cutting into the seeds. Score the sides and open it up. You should be able to remove all the seeds with ease. Add to the salad.Â
- Mix in the olive oil and vinegar and enjoy!
- Diet: Vegan
I am yet still to like the salads with pomegranate 🙂 I feel like the idea that you have to chew walnuts and also pomegranate seeds at the same time (which are harder) is not too great. But the overall taste is fantastic! Never knew how to properly cook kale! Now I know.
I find the textural and flavour combination works great in this salad, but everyone has different preferences. Thanks for the review, and I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂