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Massaged Kale Salad with Creamy Blueberry Vinaigrette

Massaged kale salad topped with blueberries, goat cheese, slightly spicy candied almonds and finished with a creamy blueberry vinaigrette. Get at this summer goodness!

Ingredients

For the creamy blueberry vinaigrette:

  • 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries makes about 1/2 cup of syrup
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the candied almonds:

  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Dash of cinnamon
  • Dash of ground ginger

For the massaged kale salad:

  • 1 head kale stems removed and discarded, leaves chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 ear of corn cooked and kernels cut off
  • 1 pint blueberries
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbled

Instructions

Prepare the creamy blueberry vinaigrette:

  • In a covered saucepan, heat the blueberries and honey over medium heat until blueberry juices are seeping out and bubbly.
  • Mash blueberries with a fork to help get juices out and cook an additional 5 minutes, but be careful not to let the mixture boil over. Remove from heat and strain blueberry syrup using a fine wire strainer. Discard the blueberry pulp and place syrup in the refrigerator to cool.
  • Once cool, combine syrup with all other ingredients for the vinaigrette and mix vigorously with a whisk until smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Prepare the salad:

  • Place the chopped kale leaves in a salad bowl and drizzle the lemon juice over the leaves. Massage leaves with your hands about 2 minutes and let sit about 10 minutes in order to allow leaves to soften. Add all other salad ingredients to salad bowl and set aside.

Prepare the candied almonds:

  • Using a small skillet, heat the olive oil and honey over medium-low heat. Add the almonds and stir to coat.
  • Sprinkle a touch of cinnamon, ginger, cayenne and salt over the almonds and allow nuts to continue to toast another 3 to 5 minutes, stirring consistently. (Don't allow nuts to sit without stirring because the honey will burn quickly when unattended.) The nuts are ready when they are soft yet toasty, warm all the way through and have a nice glaze on the outside.
  • Sprinkle warm almonds over the salad and drizzle with the blueberry vinaigrette. Toss to coat and enjoy!