From Soil to Soul - Winter Citrus Salad
- Curly Leaf Kale: This is traditionally the most common kale sold at the grocery store. Other fantastic options for this recipe are Lacinato Kale or Purple Kale.
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Red Onion: The spiciness of the onion pairs perfectly with the tart citrus. Red onion also adds great colour to this salad.
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Pistachios: I like using salted pistachios for this recipe to add more flavour to the salad, but you could opt for roasted or raw instead.
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Hemp Seeds: Of course, I recommend getting yourself a bag of non-GMO Together Hemp Co. hemp seeds for this recipe. You’ll need them for both the salad and dressing.
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Seasonal Winter Citrus: Select any oranges, grapefruits or clementines that are in season and available at your local Canadian grocery store. More details below on citrus season in Canada.
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Olive Oil: Use a high quality olive or vegetable oil for the dressing and to massage your kale. Avocado oil is a good alternative.
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Garlic: I like using my storage garlic from the garden as I find the cloves are much juicer than store bought! Find out more about growing your own garlic on my blog.
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Dijon Mustard: The tart, bitter flavour of the mustard packs a lot of flavour in the dressing. I like a smooth mustard for the dressing but for more texture you could go with a grainy option.
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Maple Syrup: A natural sweetener that balances out the flavours. Alternatives include agave syrup or coconut sugar.
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Balsamic Vinegar: Adds the acidity needed to make the dressing pop.
How To Make Winter Citrus Salad
This easy-to-make salad is completely vegan and gluten-free. In my opinion, it’s an ideal Winter meal as it uses seasonal ingredients while being fresh and bright!
So how do you make winter citrus salad?
Start by massaging and tenderizing your kale. This is the process of breaking down the tough fibre in the kale leaves that can often have a chewy texture.
To do so, add a bit of olive oil to your washed and chopped kale and use your hands to massage the leaves for 30 second to 1 minute.
Next, combine all your salad ingredients — kale, nuts, hemp hearts and red onion.
From there you can move to making your dressing. Simply combine all ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender (I use my Vitamix and it works great). Blend until dressing is a smooth consistency. You want it to be runny but not too watery.
If dressing is quite thick and doesn’t pour easily, blend in 1-2 tbsp of additional water.
For your citrus, select any oranges, grapefruits or clementines that are in season and available at your local Canadian grocery store.
