After attending Chef AJ’s cooking class last Sunday, I was dying to try one of her recipes and definitely craving some kale.
I went for the “Hail To The Kale” salad, which was the original dish I had tried at Whole Foods before discovering Chef AJ!

 Hail To The Kale Salad
Recipe by Chef AJ
serves 3-4

Salad:
2 large heads of curly kale
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup raisins

Dressing:
1 cup raw almond butter (unsalted/unsweetened)
1 cup coconut water (I use O.N.E.)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 cloves garlic
3/4 oz. fresh ginger (approx 1″)
2 tablespoons low sodium Tamari or low sodium soy sauce
4 pitted Medjool dates
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Chop the kale and set aside in a large bowl.
In a high powered blender, combine all dressing ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.
Massage about 1/2 cup of the dressing onto the kale (more or less depending on your taste).
Toss with slivered almonds and raisins and serve.
Store excess dressing in a jar and refrigerate.

Chef AJ’s recipe doesn’t call for raisins, but I thought they were the perfect chewy addition to this creamy salad.

As Chef AJ says “Like a woman, this salad gets better with age.” I have to agree, I love to let the kale marinade in the dressing overnight in the refrigerator. It is twice as good the next day!

This recipe makes a large amount of dressing.
I was able to coat my 2 heads of kale, and  fill an entire mason jar for future salads.
This dressing is a great staple to have in your fridge for veggie dipping and quick salads.