Spring Kale and Apple Salad

It’s been a wild winter out West and in our home base of Wenatchee, WA with snow on the ground since November and cold, cold weather. Any conversation I have with someone – whether it’s in the office or at school pick-up – goes the same: “Is it spring yet?”. We’ve even taught our year-and-a-half old son to say “no snow” when we see more white stuff falling on the ground. To say that we are all ready for spring here would be an understatement. So, in an effort to distract myself from this never-ending winter, I thought a good springy blog post would help. Enter this bright and cheery kale and apple salad recipe that our friend Lorie created for us last year.

This salad has me craving the first evening we get to dine al fresco, as it is packed full of fresh, good-for-you greens, purple cabbage, carrots, and of course, crisp Stemilt apples. While any apple you have on hand would be great for this salad, Fuji or Pink Lady^® would be my recommendations to you, depending on what flavor you are in the mood for. Fuji is the sweetest apple variety we grow at Stemilt, so look for it to add juice and apple cider-like flavor to the salad. Pink Lady^® is equal parts tangy and sweet, which means it will make this salad all the more refreshing. Its high acids also means that it resists browning when sliced, and so Pink Lady^® is a preferred apple to use in salads.

The simple flavors of the homemade vinaigrette dressing this recipe calls for means it will pair well with any protein you might be grilling up for dinner. Chicken, fish, and even tofu will complement this salad. And because kale is involved, you can easily make extra salad and reuse the next day for lunch. Kale doesn’t wilt as fast as other greens, and in my opinion, gets better as the dressing sits on it a bit.

This is also a great way to garner a healthy amount of nutrients in one sitting. If you follow a 2,000 calorie diet, this salad has more than 400% of your daily value of vitamin A, plus fiber, antioxidants, and more.

The best part of this springtime salad is how quickly it comes together! If you don’t have a mandolin slicer handy, simply slice the apples and radishes as thin as possible. You won’t get the pretty ribbons pictured in this salad, but the taste won’t change a bit!