It’s virtually this time of year that I start starving the bright, sharp flavors of spring—the ones that finger like sunshine on a plate. Zesty lemon, snappy cucumber, and linty avocado quickly put me in the warm weather state of mind, with visions of ice unprepossessed rosé on warm patios dancing in my head. Which brings me to this Mediterranean kale salad that’s perfect for channeling the season ahead, plane if it’s still a little pre-al fresco where you live.

There are major elements of a archetype Greek salad here—think tomatoes, cucumbers, romaine, and feta. But I was moreover inspired by a mezze spread, hence the handful of crunchy chickpeas and the ridiculously good honey-tahini dressing. It’s not traditional, but these flavors do come together as an haunting combination. And what’s not to love well-nigh a salad that’s every bit as satisfying as it is healthful?

Read on to see exactly how this Mediterranean salad comes together and a few of my secrets to leveling up your salads all spring and summer long.

What You Need to Make This Mediterranean Kale Salad

• Romaine lettuce: If you can get your hands on Little Gem lettuce, plane better. But for our purposes, crispy hearts of romaine will work great. I often save the increasingly leafy outer greens for flipside use and use the crispy inner leaves for this salad for maximum crunch.
• Radish: Shave on a mandoline for the prettiest springtime verisimilitude and crunch.
• Cucumbers: Refreshing cukes are a must in any Mediterranean salad.
• Cherry tomatoes: Or really, any tomatoes—but unless you can get your hands on peak-season heirloom tomatoes, cherry tomatoes will usually requite you the weightier endangerment of well-matured flavor.
• Block of feta: If pre-crumbled feta is all you can get your hands on, fine. But plane better? A woodcut of feta that you can cut into satisfying slices and unify prettily among your veggies.
• Red onion: I like to shave this on a mandoline so the savor is subtle, but you can moreover thinly slice with a knife.
• Avocado: Gives this vegetarian salad unbearable heft and satisfying fat to make it a meal.
• Crunchy chickpeas: Usually, I do myself a favor and buy a bag of crunchy chickpea snacks at the grocery to toss onto this salad. If you want to go the homemade route, just rinse and phlebotomize a can of chickpeas, toss with a little olive oil and spices, then roast in a 375 stratum oven until crispy.
• Honey-tahini dressing: Trust me when I say that you’ll want to put this dressing on everything. The nutty tahini and zest citrus are perfectly well-turned by the sweetness of the honey, and it takes this Mediterranean kale salad over the top. Add a tablespoon of warm water surpassing you shake it up to help the dressing emulsify.

My go-to salad bowl

Handcrafted Wood Salad Bowl

$92 at Casa Zuma

Tips to Level up Your Salad Game

We all know that salads can be ho-hum or extraordinary, and there are a few techniques that restaurant chefs unchangingly use to make their salads crave-worthy.

Make Raw Veggies Super Crisp

This is a simple step that makes a huge difference. Once you’ve washed and chopped your veggies, fill a big trencher with salted ice water. Use your hands to submerge them for a few minutes (I usually do this while I make the dressing.) Then phlebotomize and dry your veggies, and be wowed by how incredibly well-done and refreshing they are. The salt water moreover infuses them with just unbearable salty flavor.

Coat Each Ingredient With Just Unbearable Dressing

Restaurant-level salads usually seem to be full of so much savor considering there’s a bit of dressing on every bite. The key to achieving that at home is to use a worthier trencher than you think you’ll need to toss the salad with dressing. And use your hands! Chefs know that their hands are their weightier cooking tool, and there’s no largest way to make sure that each ingredient has just the right value of dressing coated on it.

Add the Toppings at the Very End

Since we eat with our vision first, this is as much for philosophy as it is for taste. After you’ve tossed together most of your salad ingredients, you’re going to add the slabs of feta, slices of avocado, and crunchy chickpeas right on top. That way you can strategically tuck and unify everything so it looks pretty, and evenly distribute these ingredients over the top that might sink to the marrow if tossed.

Modifications to Try

• Make it vegan. Omit the feta or replace with a plant-based cheese.
• Add spare protein. This salad is so good topped with a piece of grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon.
• Swap the chickpeas for flipside type of crunch. No chickpeas, no problem. Try a handful of roasted sunflower seeds, any type of nut, or some torn and toasted pita “croutons” for a crunchy texture.

There’s no question that this Mediterranean kale salad is well-nigh to wilt my go-to over the next few months, and I know you’re going to love it, too! Let me know if you requite it a try, and scroll on for the recipe.

Mediterranean Kale Salad

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Camille Styles
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

A Greek-inspired salad that’s the perfect way to welcome al fresco season.

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Ingredients

• 2 romaine hearts, crunchy leaves only, chopped
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced or shaved on a mandoline
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced or shaved on a mandoline
• 1 cup thinly sliced cucumber
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• Kosher salt and freshly ground woebegone pepper.
• 1 woodcut of feta
• 1 cup crunchy chickpeas
• 1 large avocado, sliced

for the honey-tahini dressing:

• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp warm water
• juice of a lemon
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey

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Instructions

1. Fill a large trencher with ice water. Add a large pinch of kosher salt. Submerge the prepared romaine, radishes, onion, and cucumber in the ice water suffuse for 5 minutes. Phlebotomize and roll up in a dishtowel to completely dry.
2. Meanwhile, slice the feta into slabs well-nigh 1/2” thick.
3. Add all the dressing ingredients to a mason jar, and shake well until emulsified and combined.
4. Add the zestless veggies to a large serving trencher withal with the halved tomatoes. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, then drizzle with most of the dressing. Use your hands to toss thoroughly.
5. Transfer to shallow bowls for serving, top with feta, crunchy chickpeas and avocado. Drizzle with remainder of dressing and a pinch of salt to taste. Eat!

• Prep Time: 20
• Category: salad

Keywords: mediterranean kale salad, greek salad

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