A salad should never be boring. Here’s a recipe for a flavorful lentil and kale salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, grapes, a walnut crumble, and a tahini-based dressing. As with all (non)recipes, the ingredients are customizable to the delight of your taste buds. For example, if you prefer black beans instead of lentils or enjoy raisins more than grapes, then feel free to substitute to your hearts content. The Delicious Chickpea Tu-“No” Salad serves as a great substitution (or addition) to the lentils.
Don’t want a tahini dressing? Try a Pumpkin Seed and Cashew Balsamic Dressing instead!
Lentil Kale Salad with Cucumbers, Walnut Crumble, and Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
The Salad
- 1 bunch of kale lacinato (dinosaur) or curly kale
- 2 apricots
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 pear
- 1/2 cup grapes
- 1 cup lentils cooked (and/or canned chickpeas)
Walnut Crumble
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
Tahini Dressing
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- ~ 1/4 cup water or plant-based milk soy
Optional Toppings
- Plant-based “cheese” like Trader Joe’s Feta Alternative
Instructions
- Prepare the salad by destemming the kale and cutting the leaves into bite sized pieces. Slice the apricots and pear into cubes. Cut the cherry tomatoes and grapes in half. Place only the kale into a large bowl and set aside the other salad ingredients. (Remember to place the kale in a separate bowl to massage by itself. You probably don’t want to eat a salad with mashed apricot and pears.)
- Prepare the dressing by whisking the tahini, juice from half a lemon, balsamic vinegar, garlic cloves, and dijon mustard in a bowl. Thin the dressing by adding about 3 tablespoons of water or soy milk, or more if necessary.
- Prepare the walnut crumble by adding the crumbled walnuts, nutritional yeast, minced garlic cloves, and spices (onion powder, garlic powder, and dried basil) to a jar. Close the jar and shake to mix.
- Massage about half of the dressing into the bowl of kale until the kale feels broken down and the dressing is evenly distributed between the leaves.
- Assemble the salad by plating the massaged kale and topping with the apricots, pear, and sliced cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with the walnut crumble and pour tahini dressing. Add any additional toppings, and enjoy!
Notes
It’s important to massage the dressing into the kale for at least a few minutes. This distributes the flavor of the dressing throughout the salad and makes the salad easier to chew.
Leftover walnut crumble should be stored in the refrigerator.
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