Kumquat Kale Salad With Parmesan

The whole reason this Kumquat Kale Salad came to life was because one of my neighbors has this giant kumquat tree and I wanted to figure out a way to cook with them. It was driving me insane with how much was being wasted and there’s just so many kumquats a girl can eat just on their own. I’m honestly thinking of making some sort of kumquat marmalade, what do you guys think?

Any other kumquat tips are highly appreciated! 

With that said, if you don’t live in Southern California, kumquats might not be as easy for you to find so feel free to opt out or add anything else, like oranges or tangerines. 

The magic is really in the Orange Tahini dressing, everything else is just a bonus.

This is delicious on its own but could also work as a side dish or just adding some protein in it (salmon, chicken, quinoa etc.)

For the past few days, I’ve been incorporating it into several meals.

If anything you are definitely going to want to save this recipe for future summer bbq’s.

What’s amazing with kale is that it doesn’t get soggy when you don’t eat it right away, it actually tastes better when it gets to sit in the dressing, soaking up all the flavors.

Making it an excellent addition to your lunch box or meal prep menu.

Ingredients

• Kale- about four big handfuls of chopped kale.

• Kumquats- 5-6 finely sliced.

• Parmesan- grated. Vegans, there are vegan parmesan options.

Orange Tahini Dressing

• Orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed)- 2 tbsp

• Tahini- 2 tbsp

• Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

• Maple Syrup- 1 tbsp or add one more if you like it sweeter.

• Pinch of Salt

Start with washing the kale and then lightly remove excess water with a kitchen towel.
Chop up the kale however you like it, I like doing it pretty finely as thin strips.

Mix all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and then pour about half of the dressing over the kale.

Now, this is the part that a lot of people skip because they don’t know you are actually supposed to MASSAGE the kale. My friends always chuckle when I say this but if you don’t like kale, the reason is probably because this step was skipped.

There’s a huge difference when the kale has been massaged, it breaks it down and makes it much more appetizing and digestible.

So massage the dressing into the kale for a couple of minutes. If you have time to let it sit in the fridge for a bit and marinate it will taste even better. At least for 20 minutes to let the flavors soak into the kale.

When you’re ready, just add the thinly sliced kumquats, parmesan and anything else you would like in it.

Enjoy and don't forget to pin it to your recipes on Pinterest!

Xx,
Mandy