Kale and Broccoli Salads: Two Salads Made My Day

A. JoAnn

7 years ago

You can make kale and broccoli salads at the same time, and you’ll have at least four days of salad lunches, or two dinners, ready to go.

I Hate to Make the Salad, But I Like to Eat It

We used to joke about making salad: “What can I do to help, I’ll bring something to dinner what would you like?” (Please don’t say salad…)

Salads take more work than any other single part of a meal. All that washing, drying, trimming, peeling, chopping. Then, if you want homemade dressing (and, you should), that’s a whole separate issue. The kale and broccoli salads here are delicious and easy to assemble.

Why Kale and Broccoli Salads?

Leaf lettuces and mesclun are delicate, and spoil quickly. If you choose some sturdier greens, you can prepare salads for a couple of days in advance. The broccoli and kale salads below are delicious. Best of all, you can make them at the same time.

Kale and broccoli are loaded with nutrients, much more so than a typical dinner salad. The trick to making both enjoyable is cutting them to the proper size. I like the broccoli cut into small florets, and the kale chopped into small (1 “) pieces. You get more flavor with every bite this way, as the dressing softens the leaves.

I always chop the kale, and remove large stem pieces, even when I buy a bag that claims it is washed and trimmed.

Even if you never liked kale salad before, give this recipe a try. There’s something about the chopped peanuts that makes this one of my favorite salads.

Kale and Broccoli Salads

Course Salad

Prep Time 30

Servings 4

Ingredients

10 oz. curly kale
2 heads broccoli
½ c. red onion thinly sliced
¼ c. raisins
½ c. garbanzo beans drained
½ c. dry roast peanuts divided
¼ c. mayonnaise
¾ c. olive oil
1 tbsp. honey
⅔ c. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt
black pepper

Instructions

Wash and trim kale and broccoli. Put each in a separate bowl. Trim the broccoli into separate florets.
Chop the kale into bite size pieces.
Thinly slice red onion and add half to the bowl of broccoli and half to the bowl of kale.
Add the raisins to the broccoli salad.
Drain the garbanzo beans and add to the bowl of kale.
Measure 1/4 c. of roasted peanuts and add to broccoli salad. Finely chop the remaining 1/4. c. peanuts and sprinkle over the kale salad.
Place the kale salad in a covered container and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the dressing for the broccoli salad by whisking together the mayonnaise and honey, then slowly adding in 1/4 c. olive oil and then 1/3 c. red wine vinegar. Add salt to taste. Pour this dressing over the broccoli salad. Mix to coat, then place in a covered container and refrigerate.
Make dressing for the kale salad by mixing together 1/2 c. olive oil, 1/3 c. red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and store until ready to serve kale salad.

Notes

There you have it, two salads ready to go, that will keep well in the refrigerator. The broccoli salad marinates in its dressing, which softens the raw broccoli. The kale stays crisp and tasty, and gets "dressed" just before serving.

It's easy and convenient to go green!