When you eat salads as often as i do, variety is the key. I like my salad crunchy, colorful, sweet, salty, citrusy and creamy. This kale and feta salad with cumin lime dressing is everything of it. It is a simple yet hearty salad packed with nutrients and flavors.

So how did i come to making this salad.. Well… This salad was created because my fridge was cleaned of all the leftover stuff i had from my grocery store visit. I had kale, veggies, beans, feta, olives and avocado left.. not a very difficult combination to work with and hence I came up with this Greek salad inspired recipe. I started off with chopping the heart healthy kale and massaging it with hands to make it smoother in texture, get rid of its bitterness and get an enhanced flavor. Then I added all the remaining ingredients into it. Carrots and radishes to add the extra nutritional oomph, protein packed beans, avocado and feta because google told me it’s a popular pairing and it also adds creaminess and saltiness to the salad, some dried cranberries for a tart and sweet taste, pepitas for a nutty texture and of course olives that are inevitable in a Greek inspired salad.

I wanted to pour a very simple dressing onto this salad. So I opted for a basic cumin lime dressing. The warm herbal notes of cumin blend beautifully with the tang of fresh limes. To add an extra kick to the dressing I added some jalapeños and a pinch of coriander powder too. It might seem as an untraditional pairing, but trust me, when i tossed it in to the salad it felt as if they were meant to be together! The zesty and tangy flavor from the lime, earthy and nutty notes of cumin and coriander along with the lingering spiciness from the jalapeño complimented the kale and all the other ingredients that went into the salad.

With so much varieties in this salad, every bite will give you a different yet delicious mouthful of flavors.

The given recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

For the salad

• 1 large bunch kale, chopped
• 1 can (14oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 carrots, diced
• 4 – 5 red radish, diced
• 1/2 cup olives, chopped
• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas
• 1/4 cup cranberries
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 6 -8 bean chips

For cumin lime dressing

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon jalapeño, seeded and diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
• salt as per taste

Instructions

• Place the chopped kale in a large bowl. Sprinkle some salt and massage the kale with your hands by scrunching up large handfuls until the kale gets darker and fragrant.
• Add the black beans, carrot, radish, olives, toasted pepitas, cranberries, avocado, cilantro and crumbled feta to the bowl.
• To make the dressing, combine together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified.
• Now pour this dressing over the salad and give it a nice toss so that the dressing coats the salad.
• Divide the salad in bowls and top it with bean chips before serving.