This Chopped Kale Salad Is the Easiest Summer Lunch

Not all salad leaves can withstand the power of the blender, but kale can

With flavor-packed ingredients like blue cheese, pine nuts, and radishes, the salad is a substantial meal or a filling side dish.

Not all salad leaves can withstand the power of the blender, but kale can. Remove the ribs, add the leaves to your blender jar with water, and your blades will do all the work. You’ll need to repeat this action several times for each vegetable added to the salad — they dice at different rates, and you’ll need to drain each element thoroughly — but it’s worth it. The result is a crunchy, uniformly chopped salad.The following has been adapted from Rebecca Miller Ffrench’s The Ultimate Blender Cookbook. Meet the author — and learn about the making of the cookbook — here.

Chopped Kale Salad

Ingredients

¾ cup pine nuts
1 bunch kale, ribs, and stems removed
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
6 radishes, cut in half
2 oz blue cheese, crumbled (about 3 heaping tablespoons)
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ avocado, pitted and peeled
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (juice of about 2 lemons)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp raw honey
½ cup extra virgin olive oil

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Method

Toast pine nuts in a skillet for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Set aside to cool.

Place kale in the blender and add 4 cups of water. Pulse 8 to 10 times with short, quick pulses. Drain the greens, and place in a large salad bowl lined with paper towels.

Add the carrots and radishes to the blender and fill with enough water to cover the vegetables. Pulse several times until chopped, and then drain and add to the salad bowl.

For the dressing

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Pulse garlic in the blender several times.

Add remaining ingredients except the olive oil. Process on high for 30 seconds. Add the oil and continue to blend until thoroughly mixed.

Remove the paper towel from the bottom of the bowl, and toss the salad with the dressing and pine nuts.

Sprinkle with the blue cheese. Toss a few more times and serve.

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