Apple & Kale Salad

The sweetness of an apple and the super savouriness of kale and Parmesan are what make this salad marvellous. I made it for
 a picnic once, another fridge-raid bowl that turned out pretty nicely, and is now one of my go-to combinations. I’ve added asparagus to the recipe as it goes well, but if it’s not the right time of the year, simply leave it out. You could replace it with something like French beans or just more broccoli, again, experiment with whatever is around, I’m sure it will be great.  

100 g Tenderstem broccoli (or standard broccoli)  

100 g asparagus (if in season)  

100 g kale
 

1 lemon
 

1 Braeburn apple  

100 g rocket

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil  

25 g Parmesan, grated
 

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
 

olive oil, for roasting  

Serves 4
 

Time: 25 minutes  

 

Preheat the oven to 200 ̊C fan/220 ̊C/425 ̊F/Gas 7.  

Halve the broccoli widthways, and trim the base  of the asparagus. If you’re using standard broccoli, then chop up, including the trunk, into small florets.  

Add the broccoli and asparagus to a large baking  sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season. Toss to coat and then bake on the top shelf of the oven for 8 minutes.  

Add the kale to a large salad bowl and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, season and then toss, crunching slightly with your hands to combine.  

Core and quarter the apple and thinly slice each quarter lengthways. Halve the lemon and then squeeze some juice over the apple slices.   

Once the vegetables have had 8 minutes, remove from the oven and tip the kale on top, then spread out. Return to the oven for another 10–12 minutes, until the kale is crispy, but not burnt.  

Add the apple slices, rocket, extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmesan and a good squeeze of lemon juice to the salad bowl and set aside.  

Once the greens are ready, let them cool down on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then add to the salad bowl and toss well to combine. Season to taste and serve.  

Leftovers  

I love this salad loaded up in a baguette with some very mature Cheddar cheese, some chutney and roasted ham or just serve it up as it is with some extra salad leaves folded through.  

Swap ins  

Swap in any greens you like. Use whatever’s in season if you can. The rocket can be any salad, baby leaf salad works well with this dish too. Any firm, crunchy apple variety, such as a Cox’s apple, is fine. Parmesan can be Pecorino or any hard Italian cheese. Swap the lemon for a lime, too, but you might need more than one.  

 

This recipe is from Home Bird by Megan Davies. To get more great blog posts like this one - direct to your inbox – be sure to sign up to our mailing list here.