By Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff

Salads are a good companion for any meal. Or a salad can be a small meal in itself! Summer months are perfect for consuming salads as they keep our bodies hydrated while providing us with nourishment. Salads can also be colorful, eye-pleasing and appetizing. 

This salad is very nutritious because one of the main ingredients; kale is a great source of vitamins A, C and K as well as minerals such as calcium and iron. The other ingredient, quinoa, contains a good amount of protein (14%) and healthy carbohydrates and fibers. Quinoa is also a good source of important other nutrients, such as folate, iron, magnesium and zinc. The inclusion of other vegetables also provides more nutrients.

The process of making this salad involves three simple and quick steps before assembling. (1) Cleaning, cutting and preparing the kale and companion vegetables and herbs, (2) cooking the quinoa and (3) making the dressing. So let’s get started.

Ingredients for Kale and Companion Items

6 cups of kale measured cut into small pieces after removing the stems, washing and draining the leaves

½ cup green onions, chopped finely, along with their green portions

½ cup curly parsley, finely chopped after removing stems

½ cup Persian cucumber, cleaned and cut into small pieces

¼ cup slivered almond sticks or pumpkin seeds, toasted briefly

¼ cup red bell peppers cut into small pieces

3 teaspoons of olive oil 

½ teaspoon of salt

Ingredients for Quinoa

2 cups water

1 cup white quinoa

Ingredients for Dressing

½ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

2 to 3 teaspoons stone-ground mustard

½ teaspoon or to taste salt

Freshly ground black pepper to taste 

First, prepare the kale leaves and other companion food items described above.  Remove the stems of kale leaves and discard them. Chop the leaves into very small pieces, using a sharp knife (not in a food processor). You can also cut the kale into thin ribbons. Place the chopped kale leaves in a large bowl and cover them with cold water. Rinse them thoroughly twice. Next, drain them completely using a salad spinner. Then drizzle the two teaspoons of oil all over and sprinkle the salt on top of the leaves. Let the kale sit for half an hour while preparing for the next steps.  

Cut the companion vegetables as described in the list and set them aside. 

Toast the almond sticks or pumpkin seeds on a dry skillet for just a few minutes.  Don’t brown them. Set them aside. 

Then, cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa and drain the grains completely. Boil water in a sauce pot at medium flame. Add the quinoa allow the mixture to come to a boil. Then, reduce the heat, cover quinoa and cook the grain for 10 to 12 minutes until all the water has been absorbed. Let the cooked quinoa settle in the pot for 5 minutes with the cover on. Then fluff the quinoa with a fork, transfer the grain onto a platter and spread it out to cool at room temperature. (You will only need 1 cup of the cook grains. The rest of the grain can be saved for quinoa meal.).

While quinoa is cooking, make the dressing. Place all the ingredients listed for dressing in a small bowl and mix them with a whisk. Transfer the dressing in a glass jar with a well-fitting lid and set it aside or refrigerate. (You will need a small portion of the dressing for this recipe. The rest can be saved for the future use). 

Lastly, assemble everything. Add the companion vegetables and herbs to the massaged kale and mix them gently. Then measure out one cup of cooked quinoa and add to the kale mixture. With a wood spoon, gently mix all of the ingredients while pouring the dressing – enough to moisten the salad thoroughly but without drenching. Set aside rest of the dressing.

Serve the kale and quinoa salad with a bowl of creamy soup as a light meal. Or serve the salad as a first course to be followed by other entrees. Offer the rest of the dressing to the diners who may wish additional amount.  

Notes:

*You can use curly kale instead of Dino kale

*I like to use white quinoa for this recipe to create a color contrast to kale, but red quinoa can be used as well in this recipe. 

Recipes by Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff, copyright 2025. Shanta is a Sunset District resident and the author of “Cooking Together” and “Flavors of India,” available at Other Avenues Food Store at 3930 Judah St. Shanta writes recipes and articles on food and nutrition. She teaches vegetarian and vegan cooking classes at her home and gives cooking demonstrations for the public at SFPL branches frequently which you can find by viewing San Francisco Public Library’s event page. You can also view her recipes via videos on YouTube by searching Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff’s YouTube videos.