A truly filling, actually sating salad needs a few elements beyond the obligatory vegetables and dressing. This salad accomplishes the task easily enough with crunchy seed clusters (think savory granola) and creamy sliced avocado. It's the kind of nutrient dense, fresh-tasting food I crave as the weather tips closer to spring.
Savory seed clusters make this salad a joy to eat. They conjure the flavor of roasted jack o'lantern seeds, but with more crunch and less chewing. They are perfect on salads, and as a quick snack to grab from the kitchen. Bake and cook the clusters ahead of time, since the longer they cool, the clumpier they get.
The salad's base consists of lacinato kale ribbons tossed in a nutty tahini dressing with enough fresh lemon and shallot to wake you up. The dressed kale ribbons are layered with seed clusters and avocado, and it's all finished with a drizzle of olive oil and big pinches of sea salt, pepper, and pepper flakes.
Even dressed, the kale is sturdy enough to keep for a couple days, and the clusters will keep for a week at room temp, or longer in the fridge. The fragile avocado limits the salad's portability somewhat, but you can always slice one on the fly.
Kale and Avocado Salad with Savory Seed Clusters
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