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Winter Kale Salad with Orange, Fennel & Black Olives

For my second guest blogger of January, I give you, Gena Hamshaw of Choosing Raw! *The crowd goes wild!* Gena is a smart, kind, and down-to-earth lady who happens to be a fantastic vegan blogger. I was fortunate enough to attend one of the classes she was on the panel for at VVC last year, but unfortunately wasn’t able to formally meet her. She brings a healthy, yet well-rounded, perspective to vegan dishes. And today, has decided to share this gorgeous winter kale salad, with us!

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This Winter Kale Salad, is simple, poppin' with flavor and easy to prepare. Perfect for getting a healthy start on your new year!

It’s January, which means that everybody is talking about salad. As someone who considers salad to be her all time favorite food, I’m of course never disappointed to see it getting the culinary attention it so richly deserves. But I do think it’s a shame that salads are so often associated, at least during resolution season, with words like “skinny,” “slim down,” “cleanse,” or “diet.”

This Winter Kale Salad, is simple, poppin' with flavor and easy to prepare. Perfect for getting a healthy start on your new year!

Sure, salads are healthy. And depending on how you prepare them, they can also help to lighten things up after all of the holiday indulgence. But salads don’t have to feel ascetic. In fact, I think they can be one of the most satisfying plant-powered meals out there, offering us endless texture, variety, and flavor. Love crunch? Add some toasted chickpeas, some nuts or seeds, or some crumbled crackers of your choosing. Got a sweet tooth? Pile your salads high with sweet roasted root vegetables, candied pecans, or dried fruit. Craving protein? Sear some tempeh or tofu cubes and add them to your bowl, or smother your salad in a creamy hempseed dressing. We all know that salads are lovely vehicles for leafy greens. But they can satisfy you in ways that go far beyond the requisite health benefits, too.

Kale Orange Olive Salad

I love this salad for a lot of reasons. First, it shows off the beauty of raw kale, which is a delightfully hardy salad base. Kale salad is one of the few that will keep overnight, so you can make a bunch and enjoy leftovers for days. It’s also got tons of texture, fiber, and nutrition.

Second, this salad feels, for lack of a better word, gourmet. Pitted black olives add wonderful saltiness and umami, while orange adds sweetness and a touch of acid. Fennel, an oft-neglected winter produce star, adds crunch and freshness to the meal. Taken together, this salad is intensely flavorful, varied and interesting enough to please anyone. Even a salad skeptic. Here’s how to make it.

Kale Orange Fennel Olive Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Winter Kale Salad with Orange, Fennel, and Black Olives

Winter Kale Salad with Orange, Fennel, and Black Olives

This Winter Kale Salad, is simple, poppin' with flavor and easy to prepare. Perfect for getting a healthy start on your new year!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 6 cups kale, washed, dried, and chopped (looks like a ton, but it’ll wilt down)
  • 2 cups medium bulbs fennel, trimmed and sliced thinly (about 2-3 )
  • 1 cup orange segments
  • 3/4 cup black olives, pitted and halved
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil (you can also use walnut oil for a nutty, complex flavor)
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
  • Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the kale in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, syrup, shallot, and a little salt and pepper (olives add salt to this dish, so take it easier with the salt than you normally would).
  3. Dress the kale with about 2/3 of the dressing. Massage dressing into the kale till it has wilted down considerably and is well dressed.
  4. Add the fennel, orange, and olives to the bowl. Add remaining dressing and toss again to combine. Serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

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Kale Orange Fennel Olive Salad

One of the most common mistakes that I see my nutrition clients make with salads is that they eat veggies+dressing. Without sufficient protein and fat, you will then feel hungry later. This winter kale salad isn’t particularly protein rich (though the kale does pack a nice protein punch). So, I suggest serving it either as an appetizer or along with some cooked quinoa, legumes, rice, or any other hearty vegan grain/bean in order to round out your meal. Savor every complex, sweet/salty bite, and know that vegetables can nourish your senses every bit as much as they nourish your body. And lastly, happy 2014!

Gena Hamshaw is a certified clinical nutritionist and the author of Choosing Raw, a blog devoted to vegan and raw recipes. Her work has been published in O Magazine, VegNews Magazine, Food52, and Whole Living Daily. In her old life, Gena was a book editor. In her present life, she dreams about becoming a doctor, and is currently applying to medical school.

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Impress Your Sweetheart: DIY Meals For Your Valentines Dinner | Stella Rosa Wines

Wednesday 5th of February 2014

[…] your appetizer, toss a salad together (kale saladĀ seems to be all the hype now). Include your favorite fresh add-ins, like oranges or […]

Melissa G

Tuesday 21st of January 2014

I am embarrassed to say that this was my first experience eating raw kale (I always thought it would be too tough for me to enjoy). This salad was great and remained great the next day - as you said it would. Adding it to my list of dinner party dishes since it is elegant and can be made well ahead of time.

Gita

Monday 20th of January 2014

Dear friends, Brahmakumaris are vegetarian... and emphasize the importance of keeping thoughts pure... when preparing food... they either enhance or

decrease the vibes of what we eat...thus affecting our health... vegetarian lifestyle is also more conducive to achieving total peace of mind. There is Brahmakumaris meditation...that relaxes the mind...nurtures a healthy balance between inner and outer worlds...recharge... rejuvenate the inner-self...

Weekend Reading, 1.19.14

Sunday 19th of January 2014

[…] a raw kale salad with olives, fennel and orange, and it’s a beauty. Check it […]

Christine (The Raw Project)

Thursday 16th of January 2014

The salad looks and sounds amazing!

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