Surprise! I made kale salad.
Wait, you mean you’re not surprised? Oh.
I’m beginning to think I should have named the blog something to do with kale because I can’t go longer than a few weeks without posting something that includes it or revolves around it. It’s my fave!!
I just made Brandon cringe. He doesn’t like it when people shorten words. He finds it totes annoying. Sorry Bran! I can shorten his name though; that’s been approved. I can’t believe I just typed totes.
So let’s talk about bacon. Do you eat it? Chocolate covered bacon on ice cream? Bacon flavored cookies?
I’m not so into the craze but I’m guessing you might’ve known that already…actually, I haven’t had real bacon in almost ten years. Crazy, right?
Truth is I don’t really miss it. I do associate the smell of it with relaxing weekend mornings since that’s how I grew up, but other than the occasional BLT craving, I don’t even think about it.
I’m happy to substitute tempeh bacon on a BLT but after trying coconut bacon a few months ago when Brandon and I ate out at Café Gratitude, it opened me eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.
Like I said before, I don’t typically crave bacon so I put recreating it on the recipe back burner for some time but then I saw it again recently on The Honour System and was reminded that I need to make some pronto. So I did, obvs…what is wrong with me?!
Anyway, it was an awesome addition to this salad. The bacon flavor was a perfect match for the mustard shallot vinaigrette and the blue cheese crumbles that I had left over from Erica’s Buffalo Chickpea Sliders {which were amazing, as was her Kale Salad with Apple-Miso Vinaigrette}.
I can’t say for sure if it tastes like real bacon but I can say that it’s delicious enough to at least try. You never know, you might like it better than the real thing…
Ingredients
1 large bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped
1/4 cup dried unsweetened cranberries
1/2 cup vegan coconut bacon (see recipe below)
1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles (or avocado for vegan version)
1/2 cup walnut pieces
Vegan Coconut Bacon
2 cups coconut pieces
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon high heat oil (I used sunflower oil)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
Mustard Shallot Vinaigrette
1 shallot, peeled and minced (I used a food processor)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F then line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium size bowl, combine ingredients for coconut bacon then spread it out onto the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until it starts to lightly brown then remove from the oven and let cool.
- To make the dressing, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl or food processor and mix together.
- Place the kale in a large bowl and pour in the dressing while massaging the kale with your hands. Continue to massage the kale for 1-2 minutes so that it softens some and absorbs the dressing.
- Add the cranberries, bacon and walnuts to the bowl and toss until combined. Distribute the salad onto separate plates and top with avocado or blue cheese crumbles then serve.
Notes
Adapted from The Honour System
Tip: add roasted chickpeas for extra protein!
