Rainbow Kale Salad
A superfood salad filled with kale, quinoa, bell peppers, carrots, pumpkin seeds, blueberries and drizzled with a citrus-infused dressing. Vegetarian but can be made vegan.
Ingredients
Salad
- ½ cup white or tri-colour quinoa
- 5 cups curly kale, sliced thinly
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrots, (about 2 medium)
- 1 ½ cups diced red bell pepper (1 large red bell pepper)
- 1 ½ cups diced yellow bell pepper (1 large yellow bell pepper)
- ⅓ cup finely diced red onion
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), plus more for garnish
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tablespoons liquid honey (use agave nectar or maple syrup for vegan version)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
-
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add quinoa and 1 cup of water. Cover and bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to simmer, keep covered and cook for 13 to 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and cool while preparing other ingredients.
-
Strip tough stems and ribs from the kale and thinly slice the leaves (chiffonade) to get 5 cups. Place the kale in a large salad bowl and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Gently massage the kale with your hands. This will tenderize the kale and improve the flavour.
-
Shred the carrots on the large holes of a box grater. Into the large salad bowl add carrots, cooled quinoa, bell peppers, red onion, pumpkin seeds and blueberries.
-
Meanwhile in a small bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients: lemon zest, lemon juice, orange juice, honey (or agave nectar or maple syrup), olive oil, salt and pepper.
-
Add the dressing to the salad ingredients in the large bowl and toss well to combine. Cover and refrigerate salad for at least 1 hour or longer before serving. Garnish top with more pumpkin seeds just before serving.