‘I’m a Chef, and This Is My Favorite Salad for Easy Lunches and Dinners’

Hungry for a new spring salad? Try Julia Turshen's simple copper penny salad recipe. 

With spring rapidly approaching, it's the perfect time to add a new seasonal salad to your cooking rotation. And no, we aren't talking about the basic lettuce and tomato. In the latest episode of Cook With Us, chef and cookbook author Julia Turshen shares her favorite healthy salad recipe—what she calls a copper penny salad—and how you can go beyond the basics to make it delicious and special.

This recipe gets its unique name from the use of carrots, which are sliced into rounds to look like—you guessed it—copper pennies. But while other copper penny salads are cooked with tomatoes and other vegetables, Turshen's version keeps the carrot coins raw and instead combines them with kale, which has anti-inflammatory properties that has been linked to protecting against heart disease and cancer, as well as a boatload of fiber that aids in better digestion. Other ingredients in this delicious, simple salad include feta cheese, almonds for crunch, and a tangy dressing made with lemon, honey, and olive oil.

"It's a great side dish, it's a great component of a grain bowl. So it's a very forgiving salad," says Turshen. To make the dish a bigger meal, consider adding roasted chicken or grilled fish. It really is a versatile dish and we are here for it.

Press play on the video above to get to cooking.

Julia Turshen's copper penny salad

Makes 4 servings 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 Tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 bunch fresh kale, roughly chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin coins
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
1 large handful feta cheese, crumbled

1. Place the lemon juice, honey, and salt in a large bowl and whisk well to combine.

2. Add the kale and carrots and use your hands to scrunch everything together. Don’t be shy: Really get in there. This scrunching will help to season the kale and carrots and also soften the kale so it’s much more pleasant to eat raw.

3. Place the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat and add the almonds.

4. Cook, stirring and watching closely, until the almonds are golden brown, about one to two minutes.

5. Pour the hot almonds and oil over the kale and use two large spoons to mix everything together.

6. Sprinkle with feta and serve immediately.

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