Kale Salad with Currants, Walnuts and Pecorino

Finely sliced kale rests in a honey-cider dressing while warm-plumped currants and prepared walnuts settle through the leaves. Shave Pecorino over the top at the end, if that cheese is part of your diet. This is a later Full GAPS fruit-and-vegetable salad for a snack between meals; it makes six servings.

Prep time: 5 minutes after the walnuts are ready
Warm currants: About 5 minutes
Rest time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Currants

• 4 tablespoons additive-free dried currants, with no sugar or oil added
• 4 tablespoons additive-free apple cider vinegar

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons of the vinegar reserved from warming the currants
• 1 additional tablespoon additive-free apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 tablespoon raw extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon natural mineral sea salt, plus more to taste

Salad

• 1 large head kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves sliced thinly across
• 4 tablespoons prepared walnuts, chopped after soaking and drying
• 1/4 cup shaved additive-free, properly cultured Pecorino Romano, optional after introduction

The warm-plumped currants and prepared walnuts give this salad its sweetness and crunch, while the reserved warming vinegar carries into the dressing so no extra vinegar goes to waste.

Method

1. Put the currants and their 4 tablespoons cider vinegar in a small stainless steel saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat just until small bubbles appear at the edge. Remove from the heat, drain the currants and reserve the warm vinegar. Let the currants cool.

   

2. Measure 2 tablespoons from that reserved vinegar into a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add the separate 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, honey, olive oil and salt. Whisk until the honey is dispersed and the oil is evenly mixed.
3. Add the finely sliced kale, cooled currants and measured walnuts. Toss until the leaves glisten from a thin coating of dressing.

   

4. Leave at room temperature for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Taste and add a little salt if needed. Shave the Pecorino over the salad just before serving, or leave it off if cheese has not been introduced.

Prepare the Walnuts Before Measuring

Start with whole raw walnuts. For a larger preparation batch, cover four cups with warm filtered water by at least two inches and add one tablespoon natural mineral salt. Soak for 7 to 24 hours, drain and dry at the oven’s lowest setting or in a dehydrator until crisp throughout. Measure 4 tablespoons of the finished walnuts for the salad and chop them. Their slow drying gives the salad its crunch without an extra skillet step.

Thin kale ribbons soften during the 20-minute rest while keeping some chew. Stop warming the currants when the vinegar first simmers; a hard boil is unnecessary. The cheese is a finishing ingredient, so add it after the kale rests. Keep the olive oil raw in the vinaigrette.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Total Vinegar Five or Seven Tablespoons?

Measure five tablespoons total: four tablespoons to warm the currants, then reuse two tablespoons of that same liquid in the dressing and add one new tablespoon. The reserved two are not measured a second time from the bottle.

Can I Omit the Pecorino?

Yes. The cheese is an optional measured finish. Leave it off when cultured hard cheese has not been introduced.

When Do the Walnuts Go In?

Add the four tablespoons of finished, chopped prepared walnuts with the kale and cooled currants, before the 20-minute rest.

Storage and Serving

Serve this salad after its 20-minute rest, with the Pecorino shaved on at the last minute. Refrigerate any leftovers in a covered container.

Related Recipes

For a cranberry-orange variation on the same idea, see the kale salad with cranberry-orange vinaigrette.

Recommended Equipment

• A small stainless steel saucepan for warming the currants
• A large glass or ceramic bowl
• A whisk for the dressing
• An oven or dehydrator for preparing the walnuts

Next Steps

The Full GAPS Cookbook is coming soon, with more measured Full GAPS dishes like this one.

Ebonie Garnica

Kale Salad with Currants, Walnuts and Pecorino

Finely sliced kale rests in a honey-cider dressing while warm-plumped currants and prepared walnuts settle through the leaves. Shave Pecorino over the top at the end, if that cheese is part of your diet. This is a later Full GAPS fruit-and-vegetable salad for a snack between meals.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Rest 20 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Side Dish

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x?

Currants

• 4 tablespoons additive-free dried currants, with no sugar or oil added
• 4 tablespoons additive-free apple cider vinegar

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons vinegar reserved from warming the currants; reused from the measured vinegar above
• 1 tablespoon additional additive-free apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1 tablespoon raw extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon natural mineral sea salt, plus more to taste

Salad

• 1 large head kale, center ribs and stems removed, leaves sliced thinly across
• 4 tablespoons prepared walnuts, chopped after soaking and drying
• 1/4 cup shaved additive-free, properly cultured Pecorino Romano, optional after introduction

Equipment

• Small stainless steel saucepan
• Strainer
• Large glass or ceramic bowl
• Whisk
• Salad servers

Method

 

1. Put the currants and their measured apple cider vinegar in a small stainless steel saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat just until small bubbles appear at the edge. Remove from the heat, drain the currants and reserve the warm vinegar. Let the currants cool.
   
2. Measure the reserved-vinegar amount shown above into a large glass or ceramic bowl. Add the separate measured additional cider vinegar, honey, olive oil and salt. Whisk until the honey is dispersed and the oil is evenly mixed.
3. Add the finely sliced kale, cooled currants and measured walnuts. Toss until the leaves glisten from a thin coating of dressing.
   
4. Leave at room temperature for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Taste and add a little salt if needed. Shave the Pecorino over the salad just before serving, or leave it off if cheese has not been introduced.

Notes

Start with whole raw walnuts. For a larger preparation batch, cover four cups with warm filtered water by at least two inches and add one tablespoon natural mineral salt. Soak for 7 to 24 hours, drain and dry at the oven’s lowest setting or in a dehydrator until crisp throughout. Measure the finished walnut amount shown for the salad and chop them. Their slow drying gives the salad its crunch without an extra skillet step.

Thin kale ribbons soften during the 20-minute rest while keeping some chew. Stop warming the currants when the vinegar first simmers; a hard boil is unnecessary. The cheese is a finishing ingredient, so add it after the kale rests. Keep the olive oil raw in the vinaigrette.

Use the measured vinegar to warm the currants, reserve the displayed portion of that same liquid for the dressing, then add the separate additional vinegar shown. The reserved portion is reused, not a second purchase amount. For the original six-serving batch, the fresh vinegar total is five tablespoons. Prep time starts after walnut preparation. Currants warm for about five minutes. Later Full GAPS snack between meals. Add cheese only after the twenty-minute rest.

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