Kale and Baby Spinach Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Kale and spinach salad with apple cider vinaigrette in a wooden bowl

Kale and Baby Spinach Salad with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This fresh fall take on a kale salad comes from Chef Bobby Flay. Fresh apple cider is reduced to make a sweet and sour vinaigrette. Wild rice grains add texture along with crunchy pomegranate seeds and soft baby spinach leaves.

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword thanksgiving side dishes

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 5

Servings

Calories 298kcal

Author Agile Test Kitchen

Equipment

1 saucepan to reduce the apple cider
mixing bowls

Ingredients

Salad

5 oz shredded curly kale leaves, stems removed (This is about 8 cups of shredded kale.) See Note 1 for quantity of leaves to dressing. I like to cut the kale about ½" thick shreds rather than large pieces.
2 oz baby spinach (This is about 3 cups, loosely packed leaves.) roughly chop the leaves if they are large
1 c cooked wild rice or other grain such as quinoa, farro, wheat berries. See Note 2 for wild rice cooking instructions.
⅓ c dried cranberries soaked in warm water for 5 minutes
1 ea Asian pear, ripe pear, or apple sliced into ¼" thick pieces
⅓ c pecans or walnuts toasted and chopped
⅓ c pomegranate seeds

Apple Cider-Honey Vinaigrette (makes ⅓ cup)

½ c apple cider or apple juice Reduce to ¼ c over medium high heat. Then cool. See Note 3 for further notes on this process.
1 Tb shallot minced
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar Alternately use sherry, red wine, champagne or other light colored vinegar of. your choice.
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon agave or honey (if not vegan) or your sweetener of choice. See Note 4 for omitting sweetener all together.
¼ teaspoon salt I used pink Himalayan salt
⅛ teaspoon freshy ground black pepper
2 Tb extra virgin olive oil
2 Tb neutral oil such as grapeseed, sunflower, or expeller pressed canola oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the salad dressing by combining all of the ingredients except the oils. Slowly whisk in the oils. You want to slowly drizzle in the oils so they emulsify with the dijon mustard. (Alternately, the cheater way to do this is to stick all the ingredients in a small jar, twist on the lid, and shake. Then you already have a storage vessel for any leftover dressing.)
Take half of the dressing and massage it into the kale leaves. You want to work the dressing in with your hands to help soften the leaves. (However, I skip this step if the kale is shredded thinly, since the shredding helps ease the toughness of the leaves.)
Arrange the kale, wild rice, dried cranberries, Asian pear, nuts and pomegranate seeds in large serving dish. Drizzle over the remaining salad dressing.
Serve immediately or prepare leave in the fridge and drizzle on the remaining dressing just before serving. *See Note 5 for leaving this salad mixed up with the dressing in advance.)

Notes

Once the salad dressing is mixed in, the kale and spinach wilt a little bit, but you don't get a watery mess as long as the kale and spinach are spun dry after washing. This serves about 2 cups of salad per person for 4 people.

The quantity of this salad dressing to the amount of vegetables and fruit results in a lightly dressed salad. If you generally prefer more salad dressing and a stronger flavor, reduce the amount of kale to 3-4 oz or 6 cups of shredded kale leaves.
To cook wild rice, combine ½ cup of raw wild rice with 2 c water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gently simmer. Cover and cook for an hour. The rice granules should be puffed and split. This might seem like their overcooked, but they'll still have good texture in this salad. Drain any water from the pot, spread the rice onto a plate, and cool.
The apple cider gets reduced to concentrate its sweet, sour flavor. This should take about 5 minutes over medium high heat, so keep an eye on the pot so it doesn't burn.
Depending on how sweet your apple cider or juice is, maybe this is already enough sweetness for you. Fresh apple cider varies greatly in sugar content, depending on the sweetness of the apples used and how long it's been since it was pressed. I used Trader Joe's fresh apple cider in this recipe and still added a teaspoon of agave for a salad dressing that was sweet but not sugary.
This works really well on a buffet table or made ahead for a Thanksgiving spread. I've left this salad mixed up with the salad dressing overnight in the fridge, and it was still nice the next day and not too wilted. I don't know if I'd do that again, but leftovers if. you mix up too much salad are still good the next day, and if you use Asian pear, they don't brown too much after being chopped and tossed with dressing overnight.

Recipe adapted from the 'Bobby Flay at Home' cookbook by Bobby Flay.

Nutrition