Strawberry Kale Honey Lemon Salad (Printable)
Crisp kale, sweet strawberries, and tangy honey lemon dressing come together in a refreshing 15-minute dish.
# What You Need:
→ Greens & Produce
01 - 6 cups fresh kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
02 - 1½ cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
03 - ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
→ Toppings
04 - ¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
05 - ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
→ Honey Lemon Dressing
06 - 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
07 - 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
08 - 1 tablespoon honey
09 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
10 - ¼ teaspoon sea salt
11 - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
# How-To:
01 - In a small bowl, whisk together the extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, sea salt, and black pepper until smooth and emulsified.
02 - Place the chopped kale in a large salad bowl. Pour half of the dressing over the leaves and massage firmly with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes until the kale softens, wilts slightly, and deepens in color.
03 - Add the sliced strawberries, red onion, and crumbled feta cheese to the bowl. Drizzle with the remaining dressing and toss gently until everything is evenly coated.
04 - Scatter the toasted sliced almonds over the top and serve immediately while the greens are fresh and crisp.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The honey lemon dressing is the kind of thing you will want to pour over everything, from roasted carrots to a plain bowl of greens at midnight.
- Massaging the kale sounds fussy but it transforms tough leaves into something silky and almost buttery in under two minutes.
02 -
- Skip the massaging step and you will be chewing raw kale like a grazing animal, wondering what went wrong with your life choices.
- Toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat for three to four minutes, shaking constantly, because burnt almonds go from golden to bitter in seconds.
03 -
- Strip kale leaves from the stem by pinching the base and pulling upward in one quick motion, it is faster than any knife technique.
- Let the dressed salad sit for five minutes before serving, the flavors meld and the kale continues to soften into something truly irresistible.