10 November, 2006
Wilted Kale Salad with a Creamy Chipotle Dressing
Inspired by the classic kale & avocado salad, this dish was a hit in NY when I made it, almost on a daily basis, for everyone at The Plant.
Chipotle peppers are jalapeno that have been smoked, and so are not raw. However, I love to use them as they have such a great taste and you don’t need to use many! I have provided an alternative combination of ingredients in the recipe as a substitute to using jalapenos that will give a similarly distinctive taste.
This is a real hearty meal with a kick that’s perfect for those cold winter days!
Wilted Kale Salad with a Creamy Chipotle Dressing
Serves 4-6
For the wilted kale
4 heads kale (this will seem like a lot but will wilt down when the salt is added)
2T salt
2c baby tomatoes, sliced
1c hulled hemp seeds
For the dressing
3 avocados
2 chipotle peppers*
½c olive oil
2T agave
¼c lemon juice
*If not using chipotle peppers, substitute with onion powder, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and tamari/nama shoyu
- Remove the stems and then wash and cut the kale into small pieces. Place into a bowl, add salt and start to massage the kale until it wilts and takes on a ‘cooked’ texture.
- Add the tomatoes and hemp seeds to the bowl and mix in by hand.
- Blend all remaining ingredients in a high-speed blender until creamy and mix into kale by hand.
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Popularity: 34% [?]
This is the greatest salad in the world!!!! We miss it so much here at The Plant! I think i’ve had dreams about it.
This recipe is perfect for getting your greens, is sooo filling, and is nice and tender instead of leafy and chewy.
Awesome recipe! I have a little variation, too (hope you don’t mind, Russell!): use sesame tahini instead of a avocado to get an extra calcium boost! Woo!
Kristen on / 13 November, 2006
I’m feeling this salad. Can’t wait to try it this weekend.
Dhrumil on / 14 November, 2006
Kristen: I’d forgotten about your tahini variation. Absolutetly delicious!
Dhru: Thanks for posting on your site…enjoy!
Russell James on / 17 November, 2006
Hi Russell!
I FINALLY got to try the salad. There was never any left over at The Plant for me to enjoy! Now I had it ALL to myself. My husband loved it too. Thanks for sharing your recipe. It was awesome.
NYC misses you!
Cheers,
Carla
Carla on / 21 November, 2006
So you finally got that kale to wilt eh Carla?!!
Perhaps you could take some down to Kristen & Anna? Maybe not, they never left you any! :0)
Russell James on / 21 November, 2006
Just so you know, this salad has been a favorite amongst clients and friends… I made it for a bunch of us attending the Institute for Integrative Nutrition who are staying with me and we took it for lunch for two days straight. You’re keeping us alive!
P.S. I got the camera…and the lense! Watch out world!
Carla on / 15 December, 2006
Very cool. I’ll be looking forward to seeing your photos!
Russell James on / 16 December, 2006
For the raw variation, what proportions of each ingredients would you recommend?
Caroline on / 30 June, 2007
Caroline,
I would start with something like 2t onion powder, 2t cumin, 1t chilli powder, 1t garlic powder and 1T tamari/nama shoyu and adjust to your taste.
Russell James on / 8 July, 2007
would it work if i used fresh jalapeno peppers with the spices? should i leave out the chilli pepper?
melissa on / 4 November, 2007
Hi Melissa, chipotle peppers are smoked jalepinos, so yes, it would work, but you wouldn’t get the smoked flavour in the salad. Test the spicyness before adding the chilli powder.
Russell James on / 4 November, 2007
Russell,
I’ve been meaning to try this recipe since you posted it last Dec & made it today. It is by far the GREATEST kale dish I have every tasted. I am so hooked & sent my husband out to get more kale today as I will be eating this daily!
Thanks for such a great blog & awesome recipes.
Lana~AKA…RJL:)
Lana on / 1 December, 2007
I’m a little confused by the wilting directions. You pour the salt on the stemless kale leaves and then rub them until they are “cooked”? How long does this take? Do you rub them constantly? This looks like a great recipe.
From Russell: The “wilting directions”? Are you saying my directions are wilting ? Lol. Okay, the wilting: mix the salt with the kale and massage for about 30 seconds to a minute, by which time the kale should have wilted, you’ll see what I mean when you try it.
Benjy on / 3 December, 2007
i made 2 versions…with and without chipotles. the one with chipotles is a far better recipe. it is so good. the next day its even better. it starts to get a cheesy flavor. mmmmm
melissa on / 15 December, 2007
I live in France (Paris) and, as far as I know, can’t get kale here. Is there another green that could make a good substitution for kale? Thanks so much….
From Russell: Spinach works well and doesn’t need to be softened as much.
Denise on / 19 January, 2008
Please specify the type of chipotles used in this recipe. Found some canned, but the ingredient list didn’t look good. Also found some dried from Frontier. I have looked in a few different groceries stores in my area with no luck. Help…
From Russell: Hi Kristi, use the dried ones and soak them until they are fully reconstituted, this could take several hours or overnight. Hope that helps.
Kristi on / 10 February, 2008
I would like to try this recipe out, but I am really concerned about the amount of salt that’s being used. Is there any way to cut it down to at least half the amount or omit it entirely?
From Russell: Hi Nicole. The kale won’t wilt without the use of salt so you can’t omit it entirely, but you can try using half the amount, yes. Remember the amounts shown are for a big batch to serve up to 6 people, so if you’re making a smaller portion for just you the salt used would be only 1 teaspoon or less.
Nicole on / 17 February, 2008
I love kale-avocado salad so very much and I can’t wait to try this version. Regarding concern about the salt, you can always rinse the kale when you’re done wilting it!
From Russell: That’s very true, yes you can. In fact I have done that before when needing to tone down the saltiness, thanks for reminding me :-)
JenDiggity on / 30 March, 2008
OK, I have looked and looked for you recipe book, not seeing it. Do you have one? If so, what’s the title? -Rita.A.W.
From Russell: Wow, so many people asking me for a book! Thanks :-) It’s a work in progress.
Rita.A.W. on / 1 May, 2008
I made this today- didn’t have everything (hemp seeds) so added sunflower, and used a regular tomatoe. I can’t wait to try it tomorrow since I heard it was better the second day. yum!
saskia on / 5 May, 2008