Kale Salad with Cherries and Pecans

A friend of mine had a birthday party, and we always do a potluck thing--one person does the main dish (usually whoever is hosting), one person brings a vegetable/salad, another brings wine, and another brings dessert.  I was in charge of bringing a salad; I didn't want to bring the usuals--green or Caesar.  I had a recipe picked out in the smitten kitchen cookbook, but I wasn't sure if my friends would go for it.  I will admit--I eat some pretty weird stuff (mostly healthy!) so I asked, and she said it sounded delicious!  No surprise that it was ;o)  The dressing was sweet and tangy which offset the bitterness of the kale leaves; the cherries, pacens, radishes and feta where all delicious in the salad too!

{Delicious Kale Salad!}

{Fill the sink up with water and press kale up and down to clean it; allow the dirt to settle for about 10 minutes before removing kale}

{Radishes!}

{Roasting pecans}

{Kale is pretty tough lettuce, but removing the spine helps make kale a bit more manageable}

{Fold in half and cut the spine off}

{Dice kale leaves}

{Bowl full of kale}

{Adding cherries, radishes and pecans}

Kale Salad with Cherries and Pecans

Serves 4

8 oz kale, washed, despined, and diced
4 medium radishes, sliced thinly
6 oz dried cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans, roasted
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white vineager
2 tablespoons Dijon
1 tablespoon honey
6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1. Mix kale, radishes, cherries, and pecans in a large bowl.
2. Mix remaining ingredients, except feta, together until well combined; taste the dressing and add salt and pepper as needed.
3. Add dressing to salad and toss well to coat.
4. Add crumbled feta on top of salad.
5. Serve.

What kind of salads do you like to make or eat?  I'll tell you--I'm getting bored with the regular stuff, like lettuce with toppings, so there will probably be more experiments especially into vegetable salads with light dressings!

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