When I was in New York a few months ago on a business trip, they brought in lunch for us from Birdbath Bakery. After one taste of this salad, I ignored every other option on the luncheon buffet and made my entire meal out of it. I was so madly in love, I had to find out how to make it!
So, I searched until I saw Marcus Samuelsson was also a fan of the very same salad and had created his own version of it. He’s almost exactly dead on with the flavors. The combination of the creamy cheese with the strong red onion flavors and the toasted hazelnuts is amazing. I don’t know how else to describe it. You just have to try it yourself.
I’ve made this recipe many times since and have introduced a few friends to the joy of raw kale as well. I hope you take the time to try this recipe and I’m sure you, too will become a fast fan.
I recommend serving it with the Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter from 101 Cookbooks I posted about recently. Also, you may want to make this a few hours in advance of serving it so the flavors have some time to meld together. Don’t worry, the raw kale is so… shall we say… ‘stout’… that it won’t wilt under the pressure of the dressing.
Photo by Lindsay Hunt via Marcus Samuelsson
Raw Kale Salad with Hazelnuts, Gruyere and Red Onion
Serves 2. Recipe derived from Marcus Samuelsson
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch kale, cut into ¼-inch strips horizontally, about 4 cups
- ¼ red onion, cut into 1/8-inch slices (a mandolin works well for this)
- ⅓ cup hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
- 1 ounce Gruyere cheese, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Combine the first four ingredients in a large bowl, and toss to combine.
- Combine olive oil and vinegar together. Drizzle over the ingredients, and add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Toss to combine, and serve.
