Raw kale, especially the curly kind can be a little tough. To transform it into an enjoyable salad green give your kale a quick massage. This helps to break down the tough cell structure and gives the kale a softer texture that’s also easier to digest.
Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale roughly chopped with tough stems discarded*, about 5 ounces
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the kale to a large mixing bowl and drizzle evenly with the olive oil and lemon juice.
- Add a pinch of salt and massage the kale for about 3 minutes until the kale has softened.
- Taste and season with however much salt and black pepper that you’d like, then toss once more until combined.
Notes
* Regardless of which variety of kale you choose (they all make great salads), you’ll first want to remove the tough ribs from the leaves. Use a knife to cut out the stems or just pull the leaves from the ribs with your fingers. You can chop the ribs and sauté them or put them into a soup.
This salad is a great base and you can add many other ingredients to it. Because kale is slightly bitter, adding some fruit, like chopped apples, dried cranberries, or raisins, works well. If you add a lot of other ingredients, you might need more oil and lemon juice.
If you don't want to massage your kale, chop the leaves into very small pieces and let them sit with the dressing for a little bit before eating the salad.