One of my favorite kale salads is from The Optimist in Atlanta. That and their grilled octupus are the most amazing appetizers ever. Anyway, I love that their kale salad has very thinly sliced chirizo sausage on it. It gives it just a little extra kick with each bite. While I didn’t want to take the time to cook some chirizo and then cut it in super thin slices, which sounds like a bit of a tough task, I thought I would just add some pepperoni instead.
My kids have actually been having cooked pepperoni in the morning as a part of their breakast lately. My son, who was the first to ask for breakfast pepperoni, said it was just like having bacon. I thought that was a great point! And it’s so much easier and less messy to make. Anyway, you can just put a handful pepperonis in a skillet and let it cook for about 5 or so minutes until they are crispy. And while the pepperoni aren’t necessary for this recipe by any means, they do make for a great addition to this salad.
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For this great salad, all you need to do is cut the kale as thin as you can….
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Chop the shallots (and don’t get photo bombed)….jpg "Great summertime kale salad…")
Mix it with the brussels sprouts and add the dressing (see below). It’s so easy with these pre-cut brussels sprouts from Whole Foods. And the exact amount the recipe calls for so it’s perfect.
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I am not sure what kind of kale this is so I thought I would just take a picture of the label to show you guys. It’s not dino kale but fairly similar in thickness. My guess would be a tuscan kale.
Mix the dressing in a small bowl like your suppose to and stir well, or just dump the ingredients into the large bowl wth the kale brussels shallot mixture like I did and stir and wah-lah!
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If you’re not using the pepperoni, I would highly recommend that you use some salted almonds or sunflower seeds for a little crunch and some extra protein…
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I know the pepperoni didn’t make the picture but by the time I realized I wanted to add them, I had already put my camera up. And besides, the salad is great with or without those little things.
- 2 large bunches of Tuscan kale (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
- 12 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded with a knife or pre-cut
- 1 tbsp minced shallot
- Dressing
- 1/4 cup fresh or bottles lemon juice
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup almonds or sunflower seeds OR some cooked pepperoni!
- 1 cup finely grated parmesan, IF you use dairy
- Finely chop kale, shallots and brussel sprouts.
- Add to a large bowl.
- Add dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir well.
- Add to the large bowl and enjoy!
Parker Tekin - YUMMY salad….thank you. I used the cuisinart to chop my kale and brussels.
landriav - I’m so glad you liked it Parker!! Thanks for posting! And yes, way easier in the Cuisinart. Good thinking!