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    Home » Recipes » All Recipes

    Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates & Pine Nuts

    Jan 15, 2020 · Modified: Jan 10, 2022 by Gönül

    Jump to Recipe

    Try this Mediterranean kale salad with dates & pine nuts recipe for a tasty, healthy micronutrient bomb! All vegan, oil-free, and delicious.

    Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates

    This recipe is inspired by my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles: Elf Cafe in Echo Park. We've tried it for the first time over two years ago. I remember not expecting all that much from a "kale salad"... suffice to say I certainly was wrong. By warming up the dates and roasting the pine nuts in olive oil, they transformed kale salad for me forever.

    Here is my interpretation of their amazing recipe.

    Ingredients for Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates

    • 6 cups kale, chopped
    • 2 tablespoon tahini
    • 2 tablespoon water (as needed)
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 cup dates, pitted, chopped
    • ½ cup pine nuts
    • salt & pepper as desired
    Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates

    How to Make Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates

    1. Prepare the kale by removing thoroughly washing, removing the hard stems, then chopping to desired size.
    2. Make the lemon tahini dressing by mixing the tahini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add water to thin out the dressing as needed, depending on the consistency of your tahini.
    3. Massage the kale with the dressing for a few minutes.
    4. Remove the dates' pits and chop them.
    5. Add olive oil in a small pan over medium heat, then sautee the pine nuts & dates for a few minutes. You can skip the oil and sautee with water as well.
    6. Add pine nuts & dates into the rest of the salad and serve immediately. Pomegranate seeds are optional.

    looking for other Mediterranean recipes?

    Try these other recipes for your next feast:

    • vegan fava bean puree with dill
    • mediterranean vegetable stew: türlü
    • red pepper and walnut spread: acuka
    Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates

    Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you make this recipe!

    You can also save it for later on Pinterest, and keep in touch with me on Instagram, or by sending an email!

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    📖 Recipe

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    Mediterranean Kale Salad with Dates & Pine Nuts


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 1 review

    • Author: Gonul
    • Total Time: 15 minutes
    • Yield: 4 Servings 1x
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    Description

    Try this Mediterranean kale salad with dates & pine nuts recipe for a tasty, healthy micronutrient bomb! All vegan, oil-free, and delicious.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 6 cups kale, chopped
    • 2 tbsp tahini
    • 2 tbsp water (as needed)
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    • 1 cup dates, pitted, chopped
    • ½ cup pine nuts
    • salt & pepper as desired

    Instructions

    1. Prepare the kale by removing thoroughly washing, removing the hard stems, then chopping to desired size.
    2. Make the lemon tahini dressing by mixing the tahini, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Add water to thin out the dressing as needed, depending on the consistency of your tahini.
    3. Massage the kale with the dressing for a few minutes.
    4. Remove the dates' pits and chop them.
    5. Add olive oil in a small pan over medium heat, then sautee the pine nuts & dates for a few minutes. You can skip the oil and sautee with water as well.
    6. Add pine nuts & dates into the rest of the salad and serve immediately. Pomegranate seeds optional.
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 5 minutes
    • Category: Sides, Salads
    • Method: Toss
    • Cuisine: Mediterranean

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size:
    • Calories: 230
    • Sugar: 40.5 g
    • Sodium: 13.1 mg
    • Fat: 4.9 g
    • Carbohydrates: 49.1 g
    • Fiber: 5.4 g
    • Protein: 3.5 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @aegeandelight on Instagram and hashtag it #aegeandelight

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Gina

      January 07, 2021 at 12:14 pm

      Amazing! I never would have thought to warm the dates with olive oil but it made a huge difference. Thank you for sharing this!






      Reply
      • Gonul

        January 22, 2021 at 8:39 pm

        Hi Gina, so glad you enjoyed it! The warm dates were a delightful surprise when I first had them at a Mediterranean restaurant called Elf Cafe in Los Angeles. Ever since then I can't imagine including them in salads any other way 🙂

        Reply

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    Hi! I'm Gönül

    I share flavorful vegan recipes that are mostly from the Aegean. It is a cuisine filled with incidentally-vegan gems and I can't wait for you to try some of them!

    You can find out more here

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