Kale, apple and quinoa salad with maple Dijon
Tender massaged kale, quinoa, chickpeas, apple, dried cranberries and pecans in a maple Dijon dressing, a sturdy vegan, gluten-free salad that holds up for days.
- 30 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $2.31 a serving
- 530 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: It’s ready in 30 minutes, start to finish.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ¾ cup quinoa
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 apple, diced
- ½ cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries
From your pantry
- 1½ cups water
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Each serving has about 530 calories, 14 g protein, 60 g carbs and 29 g fat, and costs about $2.31 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No kale? Baby spinach works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the quinoa, then put it in a small with the water and ¼ teaspoon salt and over high heat.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and for 15 minutes, until the water is gone, then spread it on a plate to cool.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Shake the oil, vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and the rest of the salt in a jar.
Strip the kale leaves off the stems, them, and put them in a big bowl.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Pour a third of the dressing over the kale and squeeze it with your hands for 2 minutes, until it’s darker and softer.
Timer: 2 min
Dolly’s tip: This is massaging, and it’s the secret to kale that’s tender instead of tough. It shrinks by about half.the apple and the pecans.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
the kale with the quinoa, chickpeas, apple, cranberries, pecans and the rest of the dressing, then divide among 4 containers.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Dolly’s tip: Unlike lettuce, dressed kale holds up for 4 days in the fridge. The apple softens a little by the end, but it stays good.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop plans your lunches along with the week’s dinners, puts what you need on the same grocery list, and walks you through each step.
