Kale Salad With Cranberries, Pecans and Blue Cheese

By Sam Sifton

Updated Nov. 13, 2024

Kale Salad With Cranberries, Pecans and Blue Cheese
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.Times
Total Time
15 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
5 minutes
Rating
4(1,271)
Comments
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This is a no-recipe recipe, a recipe without an ingredients list or steps. It invites you to improvise in the kitchen.

How about a kale salad? (Stick with me, please.) Just make a mustardy vinaigrette that’ll stand up to the greens — mustard, olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper — then drizzle it over clean, chopped kale with a host of big-flavored mix-ins that wink at whatever season you’re in without being dorky about it: dried cranberries or currants, say; pecans toasted with maple syrup and a pinch of cayenne; some crumbled blue cheese; a spray of croutons. Sweet, salty, spicy, sour. That and a chilled glass of red wine? Why don’t we eat salads for dinner more often?

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,271 user ratings
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Comments

Lynn-Marie

I like massaging the kale gently with the dressing before adding other ingredients. It's not quite as raw and easier to eat.

HK

Life is too short to massage kale. With a tangy dressing and some sweet and crunchy additions (see the no-recipe above), you won't need to get intimate with your kale. If you dislike raw kale (why are you reading this?) just blanch it first: throw chopped or torn kale into boiling water for 30 seconds, drain it, drop it on a kitchen towel, mix with dressing asap.

Wimpy

If life is too short to massage dressing into the kale, then it is definitely to short to go through all the steps and clean up of blanching it.

Mary Ann Downey

Love this salad and have made it a zillion times….it actually isn’t bad the next day for lunch! I use Feta instead of blue cheese.

Gregg

The best way I've found to increase the tenderness factor for kale is to de-stem it and slice the leaves very thinly. Gather a pile of the leaves, ball them together tightly in one hand and slice in about 3/8" strips. Kale varieties can vary in texture and I adjust the slicing width slightly to get the correct mouth feel. Quick, easy, adaptable!

dansedufeu

Kale likes a "deep" massage! This salad holds up well the second day.

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