Apple Cheddar Kale Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing
This Apple Cheddar Kale Salad with Maple Tahini Dressing is sure to be a staple. Whether it’s a side or main course, you’ll be happy.
Equipment
- 1 Small Bowl
- Paper Towels
- 1 Medium Bowl
- 1 Whisk
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1-2 shallots, depending on size, halved, peeled, and thinly sliced crosswise
- 10 oz. curly kale thick stems removed
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- ¾ cup crumbled sharp white cheddar cheese
- ½ cup candied walnuts roughly chopped
- ½ green apple thinly sliced and cut in half crosswise
- Maple Tahini Dressing recipe below
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Maple Tahini Dressing:
- ¼ cup tahini make sure to mix well to get some of the thicker paste at the bottom, if not, you may need another 1-2 tablespoons more of tahini
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoon hot sauce
- 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Place sliced shallot in a small mixing bowl and cover with water. Let sit for 5 minutes, then drain and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the kale, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of Kosher salt. Gently massage the kale with your hands for 30 seconds to one minute, until slightly softened.
- To the bowl with the kale, add the cheddar cheese, candied walnuts, apple, and shallot. Mix to combine. Add as much of the Maple Tahini Dressing as you'd like, and season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Serve.
For the Maple Tahini Dressing:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, maple syrup, and hot sauce. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Taste and season with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. If dressing is too zesty for your taste, whisk in another tablespoon of olive oil.
Notes
Salad is best dressed up to 30 minutes before serving, but can sit in the refrigerator, tightly covered, overnight and consumed the next day.
Maple Tahini Dressing can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature, whisk to combine, and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed, before serving.
For hosting, ingredients can be prepped ahead of time (except for the apple) and stored in the refrigerator (except for the candied walnuts) in airtight containers for up to two days ahead of time.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!