This has to be one of my favorite kale salad recipes hands down. I make it at least once a week and it’s super easy. The original recipe came to me from a food cleanse I did, lead by Andrea Nakayama of ReplenishPDX, an amazing nutritionist here in Portland, Oregon.

So many kale salads can be dry and even a little scratchy feeling in my mouth – not so with this recipe, especially if you use Lacinato, or Dinosaur kale.

Even though the recipe calls for some cabbage, tomatoes, and grated carrots in addition to the kale, I usually just use what I’ve got in the fridge, even if it’s just plain kale. Likewise, if I don’t have fresh oranges to juice, I use orange juice from the carton – no big deal.

Miso Kale Salad

Salad ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale, finely chopped
• 1/4 head cabbage, shredded
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup grated or thinly sliced carrots

Dressing ingredients:

• 2 Tbl light miso paste
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 3 Tbl fresh orange juice
• 2 Tbl flax oil
• 2 Tbl olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, crushed (I leave this out because I’m sensitive to garlic)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• large pinch of sea salt

I make the dressing first. In a smallish bowl whisk together the miso, honey, dijon, onion powder, and cayenne into a paste.

Whisk in the lemon juice, orange juice, garlic, salt. Then whisk in the flax oil and olive oil. It seems like a lot of dressing, but the kale really absorbs it.

Finely chop the kale and place it in a large bowl. (I got impatient and just added the carrots in with the kale right away). Massage with a few pinches of salt so it softens a bit.

Add the dressing and toss, letting it absorb for a few minutes.

Chop any additional salad ingredients and add them right before serving. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Enjoy!