The bright flavors and crisp, layered textures of this salad will immediately bring you out of your winter-time funk. First off, let me explain what massaged kale is (other than pure-green-bliss). Kale is kind of hard in it’s raw form; it’s tense, it’s chewy, and super bitter–not the best–unless sauteed, baked, or, massaged with sea salt. And massaging works really with Dinosaur kale–the flat, dark green leaf, not the frilly leaves of Russian and other varieties of kale (although, you can use those too). To massage kale: take about a teaspoon of nice sea salt and sprinkle it over washed dinosaur kale leaves cut into 1/4 inch wide strips all tossed into a bowl. It’s up to you if you want to leave the stems on–sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Then, using your hands, squeeze the kale vigorously, so that the kale softens and moisture begins to sweat out. Take a moment and taste a piece to see if you need to add a little more salt, it really brings out the moisture and softens up the leaves nicely. The result is delicious! The dressing for this salad was light, refreshing, and perfect for the cold/flu season as there is no oil base for it and it’s packed with good vitamins. Feel free to experiment with roasted pumpkin seeds or tamari almonds instead of the sunflower seeds as well. Enjoy! —Eating Is Art
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