It’s that time of year again, the web is a buzz with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, pie and all the sides, so here we go!! This salad celebrates the best of the season and not only is it beautiful, but it packs a punch in the flavor department. It is sure to impress anyone you serve it to and I can promise this salad will be the Knight in shining green armor at any carb-heavy holiday meal.
Amongst this crazy busy time of year, I would bet we could all use a massage or two, so let’s treat our kale, too. Seriously though, all joking aside, if you haven’t yet experienced the magic of massaged kale, you need to get on this train. I find many people think that they don’t love raw kale, I agree, it’s not super palatable in it’s raw form. It’s rough, fibrous, strong and often times bitter, but you would be shocked what a 5 minute rub down can do for this popular superfood. The flavor mellows, the texture becomes more silky and it’s infused with the soft flavors of the olive oil and citrus.
This beautiful, vibrant, nourishing, nutrient-dense salad with the silky soft raw kale, the tender sweet potato noodles, the sweet persimmon, crunchy pepitas and the dried cranberries, you mouth will be abuzz with flavor. The simple, sweet and Smoky Orange Vinaigrette is a nice compliment to the salad and it’ll become a staple in your kitchen, too. Serve this salad as a side to your favorite protein, Thanksgiving turkey, grilled fish, shrimp, tofu, etc. and once you’re done massaging that kale, maybe treat yourself to a massage, while you are at it, you deserve it.
[print_this]Massaged Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Noodles, Persimmon and a Smoky Orange Vinaigrette
{gluten-free, vegan, paleo}
serves 4-6
- 2 tablespoons Terra Delyssa Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
- 2 small or 1 large sweet potatoes, about 12 ounces, peeled and cut or spiralized into noodles
- 1 bunch raw kale, stalks removed and discarded, roughly torn or chop into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons lemon or orange juice
- 1 Fuyu persimmon, ripe but firm, thinly sliced, then half the slices
- 1/4 cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds/pepitas
- pinch of smoked paprika
- 1/4 dried cranberries
Smoky Orange Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons Terra Delyssa Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon honey (or maple syrup)
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to a cast iron or regular skillet, over medium heat, add in the sweet potato noodles and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook, uncovering occasionally to toss, for 5-7 minutes or until sweet potato noodles are cooked through. Set aside in a large bowl to cool when done.
Wipe the skillet from the sweet potatoes clean, no oil. Heat the skillet over a medium-high heat, toss the pumpkin seeds with the pinch of smoked paprika and add to the pan to toast. Stay with them, shake every so often. As the pepitas heat, they will puff up, they may pop, don’t worry. Keep shaking the pan until they’ve turned mostly golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set to the side to cool.
In a large mixing bowl dress kale with orange or lemon juice and 1 tablespoon olive oil onto kale leaves and add a pinch or two of sea salt. With clean hands massage kale until it’s deep dark green, soft, and tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add all of the vinaigrette ingredients to the pitcher of a high speed blender, pulse until combined and emulsified.
On a serving platter, add the kale and the sweet potato noodles, toss well with some of the vinaigrette. Top with the sliced persimmons, toasted pepitas and dried cranberries. Add more vinaigrette, as necessary. Serve immediately.
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