Unique kale and Cranberry salad with Almonds and Caramelized Onions
I grew up eating a lot of greens.Parsley, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, wild curly endive, watercress, the list goes on and on. My mom would make spinach stew, stuffed swiss chard, Molokhya, salads, and again, the list continues. I have yet to sample a green that I don't like.My daughter shares my love for greens and just recently returned back to college where she moved into her first apartment! At the moment, Kale is my daughter's favorite green. So, I find myself figuring out recipes that she would enjoy and can easily make in her college apartment.Lori, my chef and manger at the restaurant introduced me to massaged kale: it was love from the first bite. So, I thought, "why not make a salad that combined few of my daughter's favorite ingredients?!” Cranberries? Apples? Almonds? Carmelized Onions? Yes, yes, yes and YES. Trust me you will love it.Kale leaves are tough and perfect for massaging. First cut the stem out and then cut the leaves into 2 inches pieces and place in a bowl, sprinkled it with sea salt and olive oil and start massaging.
Toast the slivered almonds until golden and set aside.
Cut the red onion into thin slices, heat olive oil and cook the onion in the hot oil until golden. Remove the onion from the oil and place on paper towel. Set aside. 
Peel and cut the apple into 1 inch cubes.
- 1 pound kale
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 red onion, julienned
- 2 celery stalked, cut into 1/4 inch thick pieces
- 4 scallions, chopped
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch-cubes
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted until golden
- 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons mustard
- 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
- salt to taste
- Cut the thick stem from the kale and rip the leaves into 2 inch-pieces. Sprinkle with pinch of sea salt and couple tablespoons of olive oil. Massage the leaves for 5 minutes.
- Heat half of the olive oil and cook the onions until golden. Remove from the heat and spoon the caramelized onions onto dish lined with paper towel.
- Zest the lemon over the kale and add the celery, the scallions, the apple pieces and the cranberries. Toss well.
- Whisk the mustard with the vinegar and the rest of the olive oil. Drizzle the dressing over the kale mixture. Toss well and spoon into serving salad dish.
- Sprinkle with the toasted almonds, top with the caramelized onions and enjoy.