Practically Professional Vegan Kale Salad With Almond Ricotta Salata

For the past several weeks I’ve been trying to meet up for lunch with Kevin Kuchar, one of Mia and Adin’s former theater teachers. At first we were catching up to talk about Kevin’s marathon training as he is registered to run his first marathon on November 4 at the New York City Marathon but then I told him about the upcoming flash mob at Mia’s wedding and, well, he’s helping me with that. Most importantly, we’ve been enjoying leisurely vegan lunches as Kevin has now embraced a 100 percent vegan lifestyle. Here is a kale salad that’s a mash-up of a few salads I’ve come across and have adapted for vegan diets. I tested it on Adin last weekend, and he confirmed it is stupendous. He did recommend adding mango to the salad, so I’ve included this as an optional ingredient.

Serves 6 as a side

Ingredients

1 pound kale, preferably lacinato kale, but the curly is excellent, too, chopped, and often comes pre-washed and packaged in a ready-to-serve bag

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

3 scallions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup dried cranberries, cherries, or blueberries

2 ounces almond ricotta salada or vegan mozzarella shreds

Optional: fresh or dried mango slices

Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 teaspoons smooth Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon coarse Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon agave

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

Toss everything in a bowl except the dressing. To make the dressing, add the oil, vinegar, mustards, agave, and salt and pepper into a small container with a lid. Shake vigorously and then pour onto the salad and mix.