Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries, Pepitas, and Potato Chips
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Kale Salad – you need at least one in your repertoire. Kale salad with dried cranberries, pepitas, and kettle chips is a great starting point for your future kale salad creations.
This dinosaur kale salad with dried cranberries and potato chips was inspired by a salad I had at Tin Roof in Maui. That was the first time I ever had potato chips in a salad. This week I started to get a craving for that kale salad, and coming up with one myself is a lot easier than hopping on a plane to Maui. I know the salad had kale, dried cranberries, nuts, and potato chips. I decided to keep the dressing really simple to let the other ingredients shine.
The dried cranberries give the salad a tart sweetness. The pepitas give a bit of crunch and protein. The chips are the crispy, salty element (Yes, there is a difference between crispy and crunchy). The kale is just the vehicle. Or, depending on your point of view, everything else is just a trick to get you to eat kale…
Make sure you buy Dinosaur or Lacinto Kale. That is what it will generally be called in grocery stores in the United States. Do not buy the curly stuff. If you buy pre-cut kale – which I don’t recommend – make sure they actually removed the stems. It is a HUGE pain to remove the stems from kale that has already been cut into small pieces. Plus, you don’t know how long ago the kale was actually chopped. The same goes for any pre-cut vegetables in the grocery store.
As I mentioned at the top, this kale salad recipe is a great starting point for coming up with your own spin on a kale salad. The key is to massage the dressing into the kale with your hands. This breaks down the cellular structure of the kale, and makes the kale more tender. The dinosaur kale also changes into a vibrant green color during this process. As long as you treat the kale this way, you can make a great kale salad!
Servings/Suggestions
This is a light meal for two. It could be a side salad for four people, or a giant salad for one person.
If you like your salads extra tart, substitute dried cherries for the dried cranberries.
Ingredients
1 bunch dinosaur kale
aka lacinato kale
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus a bit more for drizzling at the end
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pepitas
freshly cracked black pepper
2 handfuls of plain kettle chips
Mise en place
(Set yourself up for success before you start cooking)
Pull or cut the kale leave from the stem
Rinse them and then dry them in a salad spinner
Directions
Step 1
Slice the dinosaur kale into thin strips – aim for 1/2 inch strips. It is okay if some are bigger and some are smaller. Add the kale to a mixing bowl along with the red wine vinegar and 1 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.
Step 2
With your hands — yes, your hands – rub the oil and vinegar into the kale. You can be aggressive. We are breaking down the cellular structure of the kale, and this step makes the kale more tender. This is often called “massaging” the kale. You can also see the color of the kale changes as well.
Step 3
Put the dried cranberries on your cutting board. Chop them up as best you can. There will be a variety of sizes, and that is okay. Just make sure to not leave any whole cranberries. Add them to the bowl with the kale. Add the pepitas to the bowl as well.
Step 4
Take a handful of kettle chips. Start crushing them into the bowl. Grab another handful of kettle chips and repeat. Add a few cracks of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Toss the salad until everything is well incorporated and evenly distributed.
Step 5
If you are serving this family style, you are done. If you are plating the kale salad, garnish with a few whole dried cranberries and a potato chip.
Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries, Pepitas, and Potato Chips
ingredients:
- 1 bunch dinosaur kale
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus a bit more for drizzling at the end
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 cup pepitas
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 handfuls of plain kettle chips
instructions:
How to cook Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries, Pepitas, and Potato Chips
- Slice the dinosaur kale into thin strips – aim for 1/2 inch strips. It is okay if some are bigger and some are smaller. Add the kale to a mixing bowl along with the red wine vinegar and 1 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.
- With your hands — yes, your hands – rub the oil and vinegar into the kale. You can be aggressive. We are breaking down the cellular structure of the kale, and this step makes the kale more tender. This is often called “massaging” the kale. You can also see the color of the kale changes as well.
- Put the dried cranberries on your cutting board. Chop them up as best you can. There will be a variety of sizes, and that is okay. Just make sure to not leave any whole cranberries. Add them to the bowl with the kale. Add the pepitas to the bowl as well.
- Take a handful of kettle chips. Start crushing them into the bowl. Grab another handful of kettle chips and repeat. Add a few cracks of black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Toss the salad until everything is well incorporated and evenly distributed.
- If you are serving this family style, you are done. If you are plating the kale salad, garnish with a few whole dried cranberries and a potato chip.