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Week of 1/12/15

Asian Kale Salad with Seared Pork Chops
sunflower seed dressing / Asian pears / celery

Active: 30 min Total: 30 min
Original GF Paleo Vegetarian
Asian Kale Salad with Seared Pork Chops
This sunflower seed dressing gives a salty base to compliment the dynamic flavors of this hearty, cold weather salad.
Smarts: One easy way to 'winter-fy' salads is to add a warm protein to make it feel more comforting.
Tags
Minimal Heat Required, Quick and Easy
Proteins
Pork, non-ground
Cuisines
Asian - More SE Asia, Asian - More SE Asia
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166

Ingredients

Metric
Servings:
4
Asian Kale Salad with Seared Pork Chops:
  • Pork chops (<1" thick) - 1 lb
  • Baby kale - 11 oz (sub 1 bunch kale, stems removed)
  • Celery - 4 ribs, julienned or sliced
  • Asian pears - 2, julienned or sliced (sub other pear)
  • Sunflower seeds - 1/3 cup
Sunflower Butter Dressing (yields ~3/4 cup):
  • Ginger - 1 inch, grated
  • Sunflower seed butter - 1/4 cup
  • Coconut / Bragg's aminos - 3 Tbsp
  • Rice vinegar - 2 Tbsp
  • Honey - 2 Tbsp
  • Cooking oil - 1 Tbsp
  • Sriracha (or other hot sauce) - 1 Tbsp
  • Lime - 1, juice of

Nutrition Facts

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Prep

  1. Pork chops - Season with salt and pepper and tenderize with a fork. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
  2. Make dressing - Grate ginger. Soften sunflower seed butter in the microwave for ~30 seconds. Mix with ginger, aminos, rice vinegar, honey, cooking oil, Sriracha (or other hot sauce), and lime juice. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
  3. Dress kale - Dress kale with half of the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to soften the kale.
  4. Celery / Asian pear - Prep as directed.

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Make

  1. Heat a skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush with some oil and then place pork chops on heated oil. Sear on each side for ~3 minutes. For thin pork chops, this should be enough heat to cook them through. If you’re using thicker pork chops, lower heat and cover with a piece of foil until pork reaches 145F (or 63C) degrees. When done, let pork rest for ~5 minutes before slicing.
  2. Add celery, Asian pear, and sunflower seeds to dressed kale. Toss and portion out the salad. Top with pork slices and drizzle remainder of the dressing over pork.

Nutrition Facts

Amount Per Serving
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Reviews

Ratings

Original (127)
Gluten-free (10)
Paleo (12)
Vegetarian (17)

60 reviews

Grownup salad, indeed! Never really got "into" the whole kale thing but tried it here. Yummy!

By: Susan
Posted: Nov 11, 2016
Diet: Original
0 Helpful

I loved it. I couldn't sell the family on the kale, though.

By: Katie
Posted: Oct 22, 2015
Diet: Original
0 Helpful

Added some chopped tamari almonds at the end - was really tasty

By: Merrilee
Posted: Jun 17, 2015
Diet: Original
0 Helpful

Amazing salad.

By: Jacob
Posted: Apr 18, 2015
Diet: Original
0 Helpful

delicious! Wouldn't change a thing.

By: Maggie
Posted: Mar 01, 2015
Diet: Gluten-free
0 Helpful

This dressing is out of this world good!

By: Jenna
Posted: Feb 25, 2015
Diet: Original
0 Helpful