Having a lot of kale in the garden throughout the winter, sometimes I use this green veggie to make a salad with the company of other different veggies. Here’s my recipe, which I change up all the time, depending on what I can find in my pantry. I suggest you do the same, mix up your recipe!
2cupsbroccoli - chopped in small florets and steamed
½cupcarrots - shredded
1medium beets - boiled and cut in chunks
4ozfeta cheese or other cheese - diced or crumbled
½cupcan corn
¼cupsunflower seeds - toasted
¼cupraisins - roasted in a pan with a little olive oil until caramelized
The juice of one lemon
Salad dressing of your choice
Instructions
In a large bowl, add chopped kale with lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.With your fingers, toss and massage the kale to soften the leaves and infuse them with the oil and lemon.*Step 1 can be done a few hours in advance. The resting time helps the kale soften even more.
Add the other ingredients, one by one, mixing well.
Season with your favorite dressing or use my recipe below.
Notes
How to clean and cut kale for salads:
1. If your kale has a big and hard stalk in the center, remove the stalk by stripping the green leaves off the stalk. 2. Rinse the leaves and dry them in a salad spinner. 3. On a cutting board, stack a few leaves on top of each other. Roll them into a cigar shape. 4. With a sharp knife, cut the kale leaves crosswise into thin strips.That’s a chiffonade. You can also watch my video here.
The recipe above for this kale salad can be adjusted to your personal preference. Use the kale chiffonade as a base and add from there. Here are a few substitution suggestions for the original recipe: use toasted walnuts instead of sunflower seeds, roasted vegetables instead of steamed broccoli, add some olives to balance the kale bitter taste, use sage in your dressing that matches perfectly with kale. Just some ideas!