Holiday Kale Salad

With Thanksgiving behind us, I am finally finding the time to sit down and share a couple of recipes that I prepared for our family.

My lovely sister in law in San Antonio hosted TG this year, which turned out to be a plus for me because I didn't have to cook a turkey. It was my pleasure to prepare a few meat free side dishes and watch the family enjoy them.

My mother in law put in a special request for corn casserole (not plant based) and sweet potato casserole (vegan version!). I took it upon myself to create this new dish which I call Holiday Kale Salad.

A few of my in-laws looked at it and said, "Too green!" but for the brave ones who tried it, they loved it. It is a great combination of tantalizing fall flavors set on a crisp green palate rather than a heavy starchy calorie laden one.

 

Holiday Kale Salad

 

For a large, family sized amount, you will need:

 

2 bunches kale washed and dried, stemmed and chopped into small bite sized pieces

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 c dried cranberries

1 c pecans, chopped

 

for the dressing:

1/3 c lemon juice

2 t olive oil

1-2 T maple syrup (adjust to taste)

2 t brown mustard

dash salt and pepper

 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking pan with non stick spray or a smear of olive oil. Alternately use a silicone liner for oil free baking. Bake cubed sweet potatoes till tender and GBD (golden brown delicious). Stir in pan after 10 minutes to check progress and ensure they are evenly browning. In total, 20 minutes or so.

 

If your pecans aren't toasted, put them in another pan and toast in the oven for the first 5-7 minutes while the potatoes cook.

 

Toss kale, sweet potatoes, pecans and cranberries together in a big bowl.

 

Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, tossing once or twice during that time to redistribute the dressing.

 

(I ate this for leftovers the morning after, and it was still wonderful!)

 

Enjoy!