Kale Citrus Salad
This salad is refreshing, quick and just a perfect side dish at any meal. I especially like it alongside a piece of chicken or fish. You are in control of the level of sweetness in the dressing, so you can go as sweet or as tart as you like.
Salad:
1 small bunch kale/washed, dried and thinly sliced
2 oranges/peeled and sliced into thin sections (you can also use Cuties, clementines, tangelo, etc., whatever sweet citrus you like)
1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
1/2 cup walnuts/chopped
Dressing:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 TBsp oil (avocado, canola or olive)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 TBsp sugar
Pinch salt & pepper
First thoroughly wash and pat the kale dry. You can use prepackaged baby kale if you’d like but it won’t be nearly as crunchy. Remove the thick stem that runs down the center of the kale. You can save these, chop them up and cook as a side dish for a later meal. They’re very fibrous though, so not great in a raw salad. Cut the kale into thin, bite size pieces. Peel your citrus either by hand or with a knife and cut into thin slices. Try to get only the fruit and not the thick, white skin (pith) that separates each section. You can leave the pith on, it definitely provides more fiber, but the taste might not be as sweet. Do a rough chop on the walnuts. Toss the kale, citrus, goat cheese and walnuts together in a large bowl.
In a small bowl, mix the OJ, oil, sour cream, sugar, salt & pepper. Give it a taste to check the sweetness. If you’d like it sweeter, add more sugar. You can also change the consistency by adding more OJ or sour cream. I usually end up adding a little more of this and a little more of that until I get it right where I want it. Once I finish the dressing, I pour about half of it over the salad then use my hands to mix it in. I use my hands for two reasons. It allows you to scrape the bottom of the bowl and mix everything together much better and the warmth from your hands also softens the goat cheese just slightly to make it more creamy. Just make sure you wash your hands before preparing the salad. Add as much of the remaining dressing as you’d like. You might have some leftover for salad the next day. Cover the salad and keep refrigerated until you are ready to serve. Toss once more before serving & enjoy!