On a recent wine tasting getaway, Chris and I had a wonderful lunch at El Dorado, a popular restaurant located on the main town square in Sonoma.
I was blown away by the kale salad with green goddess dressing and was determined to recreate it in my kitchen as soon as we got home.
I not only succeeded, but my version (which uses baby kale instead of regular, curly kale) was deemed tastier than the original by my biggest critic 🙂
Plus, I was excited to finally try making The Green Goddess dressing, which I had come across before in one of my eclectic cooking book purchases: “Sumptuous dining in gaslight San Francisco” where I learned about it’s origins at the historic Palace Hotel.
This creamy Avocado Green Goddess Dressing will keep in the fridge for a week and is delicious as a dip or spread on sandwiches!
Green Goddess dressing is mayonnaise based, so being married to a man that never wants to hear the “M” word, I set out to minimize (mask / cover up / trick him) the taste of mayo. The addition of buttermilk, creme freiche and avocado easily did the trick and created a well balanced, super creamy dressing which paired perfectly with sturdy greens like baby kale and spinach.
And trust me, you’ll want to make extra Green Goddess dressing to have on hand. Use it as a dip for vegetables or as a spread on sandwiches or wraps, it’s addictive!
Or better yet, just throw some leftover salad into a whole wheat tortilla, add a bit more Green Goddess dressing, maybe some cooked chicken or tuna and wrap it up for a healthy and satisfying lunch.
The dressing should keep for at least a week and up to 10 days… if it makes it that long 😉 Feel free to play around with different herbs you have on hand, but try not to skip the tarragon.
Fair Cooking!
Bacon, eggs, pickled red onion, blue cheese, rainbow carrots and chickpeas over baby kale with a creamy dressing all come together to create a healthy and comforting salad
SCROLL DOWN FOR DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS WITH PHOTOS!
Baby Kale Salad with Avocado Green Goddess Dressing
Ingredients
For the Dressing
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1/2 an avocado, coarsely chopped
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¼ cup mayonnaise
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1/3 cup buttermilk
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¼ cup creme freiche (see note)
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3 tbs chopped fresh chives
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3 tbs coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
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1 and ½ tbs tablespoon fresh lemon juice
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2 anchovy fillets packed in oil (drained, chopped)
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1 minced garlic clove until smooth
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kosher salt (about ½ tsp)
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freshly ground black pepper (¼ tsp)
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tobasco or hot sauce of choice to taste (or a pinch of cayenne pepper)
For the Pickled Onions
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1/2 to 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
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1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt
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1 tsp sugar
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2 whole black peppercorns
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1 whole crushed garlic clove
For the Salad
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About 3 cups each baby kale and spinach, or 6 cups just baby kale (see note)
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1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
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2 medium carrots (rainbow preferably)
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4 to 6 slices of bacon
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2 eggs, hardboiled
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1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
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1/4 cup finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon (dill is great too!)
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salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1) First, pickle the onion:
Place all pickling ingredients in a mason jar or container of choice, thinly slice the onion and place into the jar. Press down with a spoon and make sure the vinegar covers the onion. (See photo on best way to slice the onion).
2) Hard boil the eggs (about 10 minutes in simmering water), let cool enough to handle and either use an egg slicer or chop finely by hand. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, flipping often, until crispy. Have a plate lined with paper towels ready and when bacon is done, transfer to the plate and blot any excess grease. Crumble the bacon and set aside. ( I usually just make extra bacon if I'm cooking it for breakfast. I crumble it and set it aside in the fridge for this or other salads.)
3) Make the Avocado Green Goddess Dressing by placing all ingredients in a blender or a small food processor and mix. Add the avocado last to achieve desired thickness. (You may add more avocado if you wish for a thicker dip consistency)
4) Wash the greens if necessary and dry thoroughly (make sure the leaves are VERY dry, or the dressing won't cling to them). Place into a large salad bowl. Season the greens with a little salt and fresh pepper.
5) Peel and shred the carrots using a large grater, crumble the cheese and chop the desired herbs for the salad.
6) Put it all together: First add 1/3 of the Green Goddess Dressing to the greens, massage well (I like to use clean hands) and add more dressing if needed. How much dressing to add is a personal preference. I used about half of the total amount. Then add the carrots, herbs, chickpeas, and half of the bacon, half of the eggs and half of the cheese (use the rest to top the salads later for presentation). Drain the red onion and squeeze as much liquid out as you can (if it's too vinegary for your taste, you can also give it a quick rinse in cold water) and add to the salad. Mix everything together and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
7) Spoon salad into individual bowls, sprinkle each plate with some egg, bacon and cheese, and serve to your happy guests.
Notes
*You may substitute baby kale with curly kale or lucinato kale, just slice very thin.
*Can substitute sour creme for the creme freiche.
http://bluegalley.com/baby-kale-salad-with-avocado-green-goddess-dressing/
© 2015 BlueGalley.com
Ingredients
- 1/2 an avocado, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup creme freiche (see note)
- 3 tbs chopped fresh chives
- 3 tbs coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
- 1 and ½ tbs tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 anchovy fillets packed in oil (drained, chopped)
- 1 minced garlic clove until smooth
- kosher salt (about ½ tsp)
- freshly ground black pepper (¼ tsp)
- tobasco or hot sauce of choice to taste (or a pinch of cayenne pepper)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 whole black peppercorns
- 1 whole crushed garlic clove
- About 3 cups each baby kale and spinach, or 6 cups just baby kale (see note)
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 medium carrots (rainbow preferably)
- 4 to 6 slices of bacon
- 2 eggs, hardboiled
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon (dill is great too!)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
1) First, pickle the onion:
Place all pickling ingredients in a mason jar or container of choice, thinly slice the onion and place into the jar. Press down with a spoon and make sure the vinegar covers the onion. (See photo on best way to slice the onion).
2) Hard boil the eggs (about 10 minutes in simmering water), let cool enough to handle and either use an egg slicer or chop finely by hand. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, flipping often, until crispy. Have a plate lined with paper towels ready and when bacon is done, transfer to the plate and blot any excess grease. Crumble the bacon and set aside. ( I usually just make extra bacon if I'm cooking it for breakfast. I crumble it and set it aside in the fridge for this or other salads.)
3) Make the Avocado Green Goddess Dressing by placing all ingredients in a blender or a small food processor and mix. Add the avocado last to achieve desired thickness. (You may add more avocado if you wish for a thicker dip consistency)
4) Wash the greens if necessary and dry thoroughly (make sure the leaves are VERY dry, or the dressing won't cling to them). Place into a large salad bowl. Season the greens with a little salt and fresh pepper.
5) Peel and shred the carrots using a large grater, crumble the cheese and chop the desired herbs for the salad.
6) Put it all together: First add 1/3 of the Green Goddess Dressing to the greens, massage well (I like to use clean hands) and add more dressing if needed. How much dressing to add is a personal preference. I used about half of the total amount. Then add the carrots, herbs, chickpeas, and half of the bacon, half of the eggs and half of the cheese (use the rest to top the salads later for presentation). Drain the red onion and squeeze as much liquid out as you can (if it's too vinegary for your taste, you can also give it a quick rinse in cold water) and add to the salad. Mix everything together and add additional salt and pepper to taste.
7) Spoon salad into individual bowls, sprinkle each plate with some egg, bacon and cheese, and serve to your happy guests.
Notes
*You may substitute baby kale with curly kale or lucinato kale, just slice very thin.
*Can substitute sour creme for the creme freiche.
Instructions with Photos
Just Click on photo for the slideshow!
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- Place all pickling ingredients into a mason jar or container of choice
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- Thinly slice the onion (I like to cut the peeled onion in half and then slice lengthwise, it creates nicely even pieces
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- Place onion into the jar, press down a bit to make sure onion is covered by pickling liquid. Add more vinegar if needed
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- Place bacon slices into a skillet and cook over medium heat until bacon lifts up easily. Flip the bacon, lower heat to medium low and cook another 5 to 7 minutes, flipping a few times until nice and crispy
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- Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate and blot excess grease
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- Crumble the bacon and set aside
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- Bring a small saucepan to a light boil, lower to a medium simmer. Gently lower the eggs into the water and simmer until hard boiled, about 10 minutes
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- Chop eggs with egg slicer or knife, season with a little salt and pepper
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- Chop all the herbs and divide for dressing and salad
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- Place all Green Goddess ingredients into a small processor or blender (alternatively, you can mix the dressing by hand
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- Add avocado and pulse a few times. Add more avocado if dressing is not thick enough
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- Set the dressing aside. I like to keep mine in a mason jar and use it throughout the week as a dip or spread in sandwiches and wraps
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- Drain the chickpeas and rinse
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- Wash and peel the carrots
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- Shred into a bowl and set aside
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- Wash the greens if necessary and spin dry. Make sure the leaves are as dry as possible or the dressing won’t cling to them
Also, crumble the blue cheese and set aside. Now that you have all of the salad components ready, you can either assemble the salad immediately or refrigerate everything until you’re ready.
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- Season the greens with some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add 1/3 of the Green Goddess dressing just to the greens
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- Massage dressing into the leaves. I like to use clean hands or tongs
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- Add the carrots and chickpeas
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- Drain the desired amount of onion from pickling liquid (save the rest for other uses) and rinse the onion if it’s too vinegary for you taste (I love it!), add to the salad
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- Using tongs, gently mix everything together
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- Add half of the bacon, eggs and cheese
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- Place salad into individual bowls and sprinkle with remaining toppings
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- And enjoy every bite of this healthy and satisfying hearty salad
I’m so glad I found your recipe! I bought baby kale today on a whim because it was on sale and was like “ack! i’ve gotta make something tonight with this-what?” and I found your recipe via foodgawker and it was perfection!! thank you! and the detailed steps were such a plus!
Hello there! I absolutely love baby kale and I always buy it when I find it looking fresh at the market. So happy to hear the recipe was a success 🙂