Chopped kale leaves are massaged until nice and soft before being tossed with slices of persimmon, toasted pecans, tart dried cherries, and a dijon vinaigrette. This vegan and gluten free salad make a great autumn or winter side dish when persimmons and kale overlap in season!
I had a few Thanksgiving-themed post ideas rattling around in my head. I was going to take a few dishes from my childhood and give them my plant-based spin. But life happened and here we are, less than a week from Thanksgiving. So I’m adapting. Going with the flow. Readjusting. Recalculating. You get the picture.
What I’ve got for you instead is a simple yet scrummy kale salad and a collection of my favorite Thanksgiving-worthy recipes from years’ past. The kale in this salad is massaged beforehand to make it nice and soft (and more digestible) before being tossed with slices of persimmon, toasted pecans, tart dried cherries, and a dijon vinaigrette. If you live in the Houston area, you should be able to get the kale, persimmon, and pecans at your local farmers market. Or, you could find substitutions for the crops that are in season where you live. You’ll find the recipe for the salad at the bottom of the post after the collection of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes!
My Favorite Vegan & Gluten Free Thanksgiving Recipes
+ roasted cauliflower crostini with sage tapenade
+ oyster mushroom steaks over herbed polenta with miso gravy
+ roasted shiitakes with celeriac potato puree
+ roasted kabocha & fennel soup
+ cumin & cardamom roasted carrots
+ coconut milk braised collard greens
+ sweet potato & sage corn muffins
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Kale and Persimmon Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Chopped kale leaves are massaged until nice and soft before being tossed with slices of persimmon, toasted pecans, tart dried cherries, and a dijon vinaigrette. This vegan and gluten free salad make a great autumn or winter side dish when persimmons and kale overlap in season!
Ingredients
- 1 bunch lacinato kale
- 1 persimmon (non-astringent variety like Fuyu)*
- 1 large handful dried tart cherries
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans
- sea salt
- juice of 1 small lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tsp honey or maple syrup
- pepper
Instructions
Remove the stems from your kale and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a bowl and sprinkle a pinch of salt on top of the leaves. Massage the salt into the kale until it softens and begins to glisten. Let the kale sit aside while you prep your other items.
Thinly slice your persimmon and add it to the kale. Roughly chop the dried cherries and pecans and add them to the kale as well.
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, dijon mustard, and honey. Add a pinch each of salt and pepper and whisk it into the dressing. Pour about half of the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste the salad then add more dressing or salt and pepper as needed.
Makes 4 side servings.
Notes
- *non-astringent persimmon varieties are ripe when still firm and are typically squat in shape. The most common non-astringent variety in stores and markets is “Fuyu”.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: salad
