I bought a lovely bunch of kale at the store today and decided rather than cook it all, I’d like a salad with part of it for my leftover BBQ Brisket tonight. Since kale is a bit strong to me, I like to add a bit of fruit to round it out for salads. It does that so nicely! The earthy taste of the walnuts and walnut oil playing off the taste of orange are what make this for me. This salad is delicious alone, butis also delightful with boiled or grilled shrimp, or any meats and seafood as well.
This recipe is not suitable until you reach the the higher fruit level of the Atkins OWL carb ladder (Phase 3). It is perfectly OK for Ketogenic diets (although you may want to use lower-carb berries rather than oranges). It is also suitable for Primal and Paleo as well.
BASE SALAD:
1½ oz. kale leaves, stems removed, sliced thinly (this was 2 large leaves for me)
2 oz. raw onion, sliced thinly (only had white on hand, but red onion is better)
½ oz. walnuts, coarsely broken apart (about 7 halves)
2 ½”-slices of orange, cut into thirds
VARIATION: Add some peeled, sliced jicama to the salad. It is VERY good in this recipe!
ORANGE VINAIGRETTE:
1 medium orange (use leftover part for a nice Pimm’s Cup!) 🙂
2 T. walnut oil (important not to substitute other oils here)
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 T. orange juice (fresh squeezed)
Dash each salt and coarse black pepper
Dash garlic powder (optional)
DIRECTIONS: Cut the orange in half across the segments. Peal one half of the orange with your knife. Cut away 2 slices about the size of two large sections and cut the two into about 6 bite-sized pieces. Set aside. In a small bowl, squeeze out 2 tablespoons of orange juice from the uncut half. To the orange juice, add the walnut oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and if using, the garlic powder. Stir and set aside.
Remove the tough stems from the kale. Wash and dry the leaves. Julienne slice the kale (thinly) and place into a medium salad serving bowl (unless you plan to plate the salads individually). In that case, you can use any old bowl large enough to toss this in. Add the thinly sliced onion, walnuts and pieces of orange. Place the bowl of greens and fruit in your refrigerator until ready to serve.
Right before serving, pour the orange vinaigrette over the greens and toss well to coat. If you wish to plate it, place half the salad onto each of two individual serving plates. Garnish with a slice of orange if desired. I didn’t have any tonight, but a sprinkle of pomegranate kernels would be delicious as well as pretty on this salad. 🙂
NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 2 servings, each contains:
206 calories, 18.4 g fat, 9.85 g carbs, 3.20 g fiber, 6.65 g NET CARBS, 2.3 g protein, 90 mg sodium
