Autumn Kale Salad by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
November 12, 2021
A kale salad with thin slivers of bosc pear, celery and toasted pumpkin seeds spells fall to me! I have taken the kale-prep a step further and cut stacks of washed & dried kale leaves across into thin strips. This technique is called ‘chiffonade’ in French. The result is a salad with a more slaw-like texture. Peeling the celery lends more finesse and mixing two vinaigrettes/dressings will give you the right coating-texture. And don’t forget the toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch!
- Prep: 1 hrs
- Cook: 1 hrs
- Yields: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
1 bunch kale
1 bosc pear, ripe but firm. Washed and dried
A few drops of fresh lemon juice
2 stalks celery, washed and dried
2-3 carrots, peeled
1 1⁄2 each scallion pieces, washed and dried
1/3rd cup prepared lemon shallot or balsamic vinaigrette (I like Cindy’s vinaigrettes)
2-3 tablespoons your favorite ranch or buttermilk dressing
1⁄4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
Directions
Prep the kale. Strip the leaves from the kale stalks and tear the leaves into 3-4-inch pieces. Wash and dry the kale leaves. Set aside.
Remove the pear stem. Slice and quarter the pear. Use a paring knife to remove the seeds and core from each piece. Lay each piece down on the cutting board and cut across into very thin slices. Remove all cut pieces to a bowl and toss with a few drops of fresh lemon juice. (The lemon juice will prevent the pears from turning brown.) Set aside.
Cut the celery stalks in half. With a paring knife (or peeler), strip off some of the outer layer of ‘celery strings.’ Lay each piece on your cutting board and very thinly slice across the celery sticks into slivers. Slice on the diagonal. Add to the bowl with the pear pieces. Toss to combine.
‘Julienne’ the carrots. Another French technique! Slice each carrot across into 1⁄4-inch diagonal slices. Then slice across each diagonal piece into 1/8-inch matchstick pieces. (Alternately, grate the carrots on the largest hole of your box grater or use the ’julienne’ blade on your food processor.)
Set aside.
Thinly slice the scallions, both white and green parts. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk to combine both dressings. Set aside.
