Winter Kale Salad with Cranberry Vinaigrette

After realizing that the last several recent posts have featured sweeter recipes, I thought it might be a good idea to tip things over to the other side of the scale with something clean, green and healthy. I know it's that time of year when holiday party platters and Christmas cookies are tempting us left and right, but that's all the more reason to make sure you're practicing the art of balance with the rest of your meals, and that's exactly why you need this winter kale salad in your life.

It may not look as enticing as say, white chocolate truffles or eggnog marshmallows, but we all gotta get our greens in somehow, and I have to say that as far as kale salads go, this one's a winner.

It's chock full of wintery seasonal goodness, including some leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving (don't judge) that was begging to be used up, so I transformed it into a luscious cranberry vinaigrette that would make a festive dressing to any holiday salad. If you don't have any cranberry sauce you could certainly substitute fresh cranberries- just be sure to add a bit of sweetener such as honey or agave to offset the tartness (and avoid puckered lips from your guests).

Kale leaves are massaged with the dressing to tenderize them, and then tossed with persimmon (of which I am slowly becoming a fan, especially in salads), crunchy toasted hazelnuts and gorgeous segments of Satsuma tangerines, which are at the height of their season currently. Oh, and did I mention there is also bacon? Yep, that too. You're welcome.

serves 4-6
Ingredients
for the cranberry vinaigrette:
1/4 cup cranberry sauce
1 Tbsp. shallot, diced
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
salt
freshly ground pepper

for the salad:
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves torn into small pieces
2 Fuyu persimmons, thinly sliced
3 Satsuma tangerines, segmented
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled bacon

Instructions
1. For the salad dressing, add cranberry sauce, shallot, orange juice, vinegar and dijon in a food processor and pulse until smooth. With the motor running, gradually add olive oil and blend until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Add kale to a large salad bowl and pour vinaigrette over kale. You may end up with extra vinaigrette; if so simply reserve for another use. Massage kale leaves gently with hands or tongs to evenly distribute vinaigrette and soften kale. Add remaining salad ingredients and toss together just before serving.