Winter Kale Salad with Heat & Honey Fire Cider Vinaigrette

Bowl of chopped curly kale on a dark slate board with loose kale leaves, garlic cloves and a small dish of coarse salt.

Photo: Pexels

Fire cider used: Heat & Honey

This is one of my absolute favorite salads, especially in the winter months. It's just kale, salt, olive oil, nutritional yeast, and a good pour of our Heat & Honey fire cider. That's the whole list, and I don't add a thing to it.

The fire cider is apple cider vinegar steeped with horseradish, garlic, ginger, onion, cayenne, and herbs, finished with honey, so it gives the dressing tang, heat, and a little sweetness all at once. Rub the kale with salt first so it turns tender, then toss it with the dressing and a big handful of nutritional yeast for that savory, almost cheesy flavor. I make a big bowl and eat it for two days.

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side | Prep 15 min | Rest 10 min | No cooking

Ingredients

For the salad

  • 1 large bunch kale (about 10 ounces), lacinato or curly
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast, plus more to taste

For the Heat & Honey vinaigrette

  • 3 tablespoons Fire Cider: Heat & Honey, shaken well
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Steps

  1. Wash the kale and dry it really well (a salad spinner or a clean towel works). Wet leaves water down the dressing. Strip the leaves off the tough center stems and slice the leaves into thin ribbons.
  2. Put the kale in a big bowl and sprinkle the salt over it. Drizzle on 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Massage the kale with your hands for 2 to 3 minutes, squeezing as you go, until it turns darker green, feels soft, and shrinks down by about a third.
  3. Shake the fire cider bottle well. In a small jar, shake or whisk the fire cider and the rest of the olive oil until they come together.
  4. Pour the vinaigrette over the kale and toss until every leaf is coated.
  5. Sprinkle on the nutritional yeast and toss again. Let the salad sit for 10 minutes so the kale soaks up the dressing.
  6. Taste, then add another pinch of salt, a splash more fire cider, or more nutritional yeast until it tastes right to you. Nutritional yeast is a little salty on its own, so taste before you add salt.

Tips and storage

  • Heat level: Heat & Honey has real kick from the cayenne and horseradish. If you're not sure, start with 2 tablespoons and add more after you taste.
  • This salad keeps well. Dressed kale holds up in a covered container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days, so it's a good one to make ahead.
  • Keep your fire cider in the fridge after opening, and shake it every time you pour.

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