Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand, so I could wave it and make everyone love kale as much as I do. Lucky for me, I think I came up with a recipe to make a kale lover out of just about anyone! I originally got the idea for this salad during a magnificent dinner I had in Miami during Art Basel. Since then, I’ve been slowly recreating and perfecting this salad and today I got it just right.
Taking hearty lacinato (dinosaur) kale and making it melt in your mouth is normally quite the task! But it can be easy, all you need is a food processor, a few minutes to prepare some simple ingredients and voila! Every flavor profile is represented in this recipe – sweet, salty, sour, astringent, bitter, and pungent. In Ayurvedic medicine, they believe that having each taste in a meal acts as a beneficial digestive component leaving your body completely nourished and satisfied. So that’s why it’s no surprise that I feel great after eating this salad.
- 1 bunch of lacinato or dinosaur kale, stems removed, rinsed and patted dry
- ⅓ cup currants (or chopped raisins)
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1 tsp local honey
- ½ cup pine nuts toasted
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 tbsp grated raw parmesan cheese
- In a food processor, process kale into small chopped pieces
- To make dressing, stir lemon juice, olive oil, honey, salt and pepper together in a large bowl
- Add chopped kale, currants, pine nuts and parmesan to bowl with dressing
- Stir all ingredients together and serve
- (Optional - Save some pine nuts and/or parmesan cheese for top of salad before serving for presentation purposes)
Kale is a superfood ingredient that has completely transformed my health and my life. I hope you’ll try this recipe to unlock the magic and experience the powers of this amazing plant for yourself and for the ones you love.
Enjoy!
Food Babe
P.S. What’s your favorite Kale recipe? Share with me and others in the comments below or on facebook 🙂
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One of my favorite ways to have kale is in a smoothie blended with watermelon and banana. Your salad looks delicious
Mmmmm. Never had that combo before – gotta try it!
OMG, me too!
I found this recipe on epicurious.com months ago and have been making it almost weekly ever since. My entire family eats kale when I make this!
TUSCAN KALE CAESAR SLAW
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
8 anchovy fillets packed in oil, drained
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan, divided
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled
14 ounces Tuscan kale or other kale, center stalks removed, thinly sliced crosswise (about 8 cups)
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a blender; purée until smooth. With machine running, slowly add oil, drop by drop, to make a creamy dressing. Transfer dressing to a bowl and stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD: Dressing can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Separate egg white from yolk. Place egg white in a coarse-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Press egg white through strainer with the back of a spoon; scrape egg white from bottom of strainer. Repeat with egg yolk, using a clean strainer and bowl. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover bowls separately and chill.
Toss kale and dressing in a large bowl to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan and sieved eggs
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tuscan-Kale-Caesar-Slaw-366450#ixzz2Sl7pNJp5
Thanks for the recommendation – I’ve always wanted to make my own caesar dressing, just never got around to it!
By the way, I love the idea of putting the kale in a food processor! I think that definitely helps with making the kale more palatable for some…not to mention a great time saver.
Thanks!
I’m thinking that the caesar dressing would be really good to coat kale leaves before dehydrating them!! have to try and will report back…
I love Lacinato Kale…I will take a head of organic lacinato kale (wash it and cut stems partially) then cut it into wide strips across and steam it in a large pot – only enough for stems to be edible and crunchy. I will then take two cloves of organic garlic and cut it up in finely, add it to kale, add olive oil, salt, pepper and lastly squeeze an entire organic lemon and mix it well. Eat immediately (as the kale is still a touch warm).
I like to make “Kale Chips” You simply put them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with EVO. Add any flavor you like. Parmesan cheese is a fav. Bske at 350 for about 20-25 min. Make sure Kale is pat dry first. Even kids like it. One thing many people dont know is that Kale is fantastic for eye site! Commercial pilots going for their license are required to have perfect vision. A pilot once told me that those that struggle have taken to Kale and it actually increased their vision by about 60percent. One other gadget that I love is the “Mastrad” Top Chips maker. You can put any fruit or veggie in it and in seconds have homeade chips. Way healthier!
My favorite chip! Thanks for the tips.
My daughter loves kale chips! She will eat a whole cookie sheet full. She’s probably the only kid in grade three who brings salad for lunch!
Ever since I started Juicing large amounts of kale and carrots, my eye sight has improved dramatically!
That is so cool! I need to start adding more carrots to my juice because my eyesight is starting to go…
In a bowl, Mash up an avocado, squeeze half a lemon, 4 TBL spoons of EVOO, some salt and pepper. Mix together then add mixture to turn up bunch of kale, massage in leaves. If you like add some red chili flakes!! Super yummy, lasts 2 days in fridge.
That would be a torn up bunch of kale 😉
Oh She Glows has a great recipe for a massaged kale salad.
I love this salad! I made a similar version (from epicurious, I think) for Thanksgiving to rave reviews. Unlike most other leafy salads, the longer it sits the better it gets! Perfect for make-ahead meals!
Would this be good then to make and leave in fridge for leftovers the next day? No one else here likes kale so if I make a batch, I’d like to make a couple servings worth. Thanks!
Yes it is fine the next day…
For anyone with any degree of thyroid issues, raw kale isn’t a great idea, BUT I’d imagine that a light steaming would make this salad just as yummy. Can’t wait to try it!
Why? I juice daily and kale is my green of choice. I have hashimotos thyroid disease and have never been told anything about kale being bad.
My nutritionist highly recommends against it. See paragraph 6 in this post of hers under the image: http://www.maryvancenc.com/2013/01/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-juice/ – hope it’s helpful!
I just saw this yesterday. I didn’t know about it either.
here is the site http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/treat-hypothyroidism-naturally#axzz2SjdLRB1h
See paragraph 6 under the pic – a post from my nutritionist http://www.maryvancenc.com/2013/01/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-juice/
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been struggling with hypothyroidism and it just keeps getting worse. I drink green drinks with spinach or kale almost everyday and have more in salads some days. Maybe that’s part of the problem. I’ll have to look into this more.
I doubt that’s the problem. Certain foods get “blamed,” but there are far more effective methods of treating hypothyroidism than removing highly nutritious foods like kale from your diet. The correlations with “goitrogenic” foods are relatively minor compared with effective herbal and other treatment.
Autoimmune diseases very often have a connection to “Leaky Gut” syndrome, which often starts with food sensitivities, or a history of multiple rounds of antibiotics. (And unfortunately many people have one or both of these situations!)
Hypothyroidism, including Hashimotos, can be treated effectively with naturopathic medicine. Conventional docs often say you’re going to be stuck on thyroid hormone for the rest of your life. This is really not necessarily true. I had a patient in just today, for whom we are steadily reducing her dose of prescription thyroid hormone, as her thyroid gland gets progressively healthier. [Granted, this is harder in autoimmune thyroiditis! But can be done.] Look for a naturopathic doctor/physician in your area. (It’s important to find one from an accredited 4-year naturopathic medical college, not someone who took a short online course. These latter can be effective at certain things, but are not doctors).
Good luck!
Dr. Deborah Epstein, (I’m a naturopathic physician licensed in the state of Washington. And all of the preceding is intended as general information, and not to be construed as medical advice)
Thanks for your input. I wouldn’t be removing those food items from my diet, I would just consider cooking them ahead of time before using. Unfortunately there aren’t naturopathic doctors in my area as I live in a small Kansas town so I have to do some trial and error on my own for these things and see what works for me. It seems the last few years I’ve been eating healthier and healthier trying to stay healthy naturally and each year at my physical I have to increase my prescription thyroid supplement dosage. I hope to be able to reverse that like the patient you mentioned. Best of luck for continued decreasing in dosage for that patient and others, sounds like you are doing good work!
My favorite kale salad: chopped up kale mixed with walnuts and dried cranberries with a red wine vinegar/grape seed oil dressing topped with Gorgonzola cheese. YUM! (And, yes, organic ingredients!)
My favorite kale recipe is The Hari Shake of course! I can’t wait to try this salad and your other recipes. I love your site. Keep up the great work!
This sounds nice, I like the idea of using the food processor to get it smaller and more easily edible in its raw state. My favorite type of kale for cooking though is by far cavalo nero! My sister made a fabulous tangy salad from pinterest and it is a MUST try: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324274404578213611514096602.html
My omelettes are usually kale now! http://greatfooddaily.blogspot.com/2012/09/kale-omelet.html
Nice, Miami mentioned in a Food Babe post!! I need to eat some Kale, I have a good amount of it, but always in juices I make.
Where did you find such large pine nuts? The ones I find are much smaller, like sunflower seeds.
I think they just look bigger in the picture…
I love kale! I almost always include a handful in my morning green drink. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks, Vani!
My new favorite morning breakfast is to take a giant handful of chopped kale or baby kale, quick sauteed in organic coconut oil with some curry powder and then crack a couple of eggs from happy chickens in it, stir it up, turn down the heat..do a few dishes or something, flip the egg/kale mix. Cook to your liking and eat it up. It has fabulous flavor and the color is amazing.
I want that RIGHT NOW!!
This sounds great!
I love Garlicky Kale! It’s my vegan version of Caesar salad. Delicious!!
Garlicky Kale:
Ingredients
1 bunch raw kale, washed, de-stemmed and dried
2 Tablespoons tahini
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or water)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos (tamari or soy sauce would work too)
4 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons minced garlic (1 – 2 cloves of garlic
Instructions
Break or cut kale into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.
Puree all ingredients except kale and sesame seeds in a blender or food processor to blend the dressing.
Pour dressing over kale and massage into the kale with your hands until all pieces of kale are coated.
Let the salad sit in the fridge for an hour or so to marinate. You can skip this step if you need to eat right away, but allowing some time to marinate will wilt the kale a bit and make it a little more palatable – particularly for those who are skeptical of eating raw kale.
WOW Thank you so much..your info is just what I needed cant wait to make
Warm Kale Salad:
– Saute onions, mushrooms and carrots in a pan with olive oil, garlic.
– Separately, clean kale and remove stems. Massage kale with olive oil, salt and pepper. Let sit.
– Remove cooked veggies from the pan. Add the kale and cook until tender enough for your liking.
– Top kale with other sauteed veggies.
– For a little protein, add Trader Joe’s chicken strips or any grilled/baked chicken you have on hand. Sometimes I also add a couple of grape tomatoes. So good!
I find that massaging the dressing into the kale helps to break down its bitterness too.
This is for when you are craving something with sausage that you won’t feel awful about!
Spicy White Beans, Sausage & Kale pasta
1 can organic Eden Cannellini beans rinsed/drained
1 bunch organic Lacinto Kale rinsed, chopped
1 package Organic Niman Ranch Sweet Italian Pork Sausage sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds
1 tsp organic olive oil
1 tsp organic Christopher Ranch minced roasted garlic
1/8 cup organic chicken stock
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 lb whole grain Jovial Foods Einkorn Rigatoni
Organic parmesan cheese for topping.
Simply saute garlic in olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat for a couple minutes, add sliced sausage and continue to cook over medium heat about 5 minutes, add thyme, cayenne, stock and give the pan a little shimmy shake. Add chopped kale and leave on top of the sausage mixture as a layer, add beans to top of kale layer. Cover and cook for 12 minutes on med-low to steam up the kale. Meanwhile cook up the pasta. About halfway during the cooking of sausage mixture give the ingredients a gentle fold-in to incorporate beans without mashing.
Serve up your pasta tossed with a smidgen of olive oil sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Spoon over your sausage, kale, and white bean mixture. Finish off with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese!
Voila! A sin-dulgent sausage dish you can feel OK about!
I love this kale/brussels sprout salad recipe from epicurious.com! The only thing I add to this recipe is honey.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Kale-Brussels-Sprout-Salad-368295
This is my favorite kale recipe, as well! Even my picky husband likes it. 🙂 Unlike other salads, the kale salad holds up well and is even better the next day, I think.
When I eat pine nuts, I get a condition called pine mouth for 2 – 3 days. Ever heard of it? EVERYTHING tastes very metallic – even water. Anyway, this salad sounds absolutely delicious. Is there another nut besides pinenuts that you would recommend? Do you think almonds would be a good choice? Thanks!
So interesting…I have never heard of it. Yes I think slivered almonds would be great!
I was thinking about a different nut as well, but only because Pine Nuts are so darn expensive. Maybe almond slivers or toasted walnuts??
This looks fabulous! My favorite way to eat kale is marinated (for a few hours) with lemon juice, olive oil, S & P. Serve over quinoa and sprinkle with pine nuts-delish!!!
YUMMMMMMM….thanks for this great idea!!!
Well, apart from the obvious Kale chips, I like to make a warm salad with roasted golden beets, sweet potatoes and shallots and garlic. I then toss it all together with a bunch of torn Kale that’s been lightly sauteed in olive oil, toasted sunflower seeds and heirloom cherry tomatoes, then dress it with a mustard vinaigrette. Even the kids love it 🙂
I make this a lot:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lacinato-Kale-and-Ricotta-Salata-Salad-236940
Look’s good. I don’t eat dairy. What do you recommend instead of the cheese? When I first saw the picture I thought is was shaved coconut.
Hi Mary – just leave out the cheese, it will still be delicious!
Try cooked quinoa in place of the cheese. I did since I didn’t have cheese on hand and it was delicious! I also chopped the kale using kitchen shears since I don’t have a food processor.
I like to use Braggs nutritional yeast seasoning. Tastes similar to cheese, and even high in B vitamins!
I throw kale into any soup, stew, chili, or scramble! It’s the bomb! (:
Nice added bonus of a variation of recipes, thanks! I’ve been hooked on kale for a few months now and even though I make faces (#kaleface!), I love the benefits of eating green. Keep up the good work, thank you 🙂
Love that you include pictures in all your recipes. Please keep them coming!
Yum! By the way, where do you find the best kale around here? My usual sources are hit or miss. And do you have a favorite honey, honey??
FOOD BABE – what kind if Parmesan cheese do you buy? It’s hard to find it without rennet or other nasty additives. I usually avoid Parmesan for those reasons.
I’ve found Organic Valley Parmesan at only 1 store & it’s rennet free. 😉 But it’s not close by.
We all, even the kids, ages 13, 6,7, & 2 drink “green drink” every day! It is loaded with juiced organics …lacinato kale, kiwi, ginger, apple, carrots and then blended with organic banana. The kids love it, and will even clean their rooms for it! I usually just serve it with breakfast, though. 🙂 No cleaning required.
in Thailand, we represent all the various tastes & flavors in each meal as well…
thanx for another great recipe (& thanx everybody else for YOUR recipes also!!!)
Have you research cheese as a whole. I have read information that all cheese because of the casin can cause cancer cells to grow. An alternative would be nutritional yeast. I also so read that cheese has low doses of morphine and that is why it can be so addictive not to mention the high salt content for those of us who are on blood pressure medicine.
I love to do kale chips with some white balsamic, sea salt and a bit of avocado oil. Brings out a nice salty sweetness. I never thought to do kale salad in a food processor. I will try this. Thanks for the recipe!
This sounds great! Unfortunately kale is getting really expensive here. I want to try growing my own. I wanted to this spring, but the weather is not cooperating so I can get in the garden. Maybe a late crop in the fall.
My go-to summer kale salad. It serves one very hungry person:
1/2 cup cooked quinoa, rinsed through cold water to cool
3-4 stalks curly kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 corn cob, cooked and cut off the cob
1 avocado, sliced
small handful of parsley
lemon juice, olive oil to taste
Super simple, just pour a little olive oil over the kale in your salad bowl and work those fingers. Give it a good massage, then toss all the other ingredients in. Give your salad a good few squeezes of lemon juice and a little olive oil and toss.
Made this for dinner and couldn’t stop eating it…super yummy! Thank you for sharing!!
Kale-potato mash…growing up we always had carrot-potato mash, but one day my mom started using chopped steamed kale in place of the carrots. Now instead of melted butter and milk I use plain yogurt and salt and pepper to get a nice creamy mash.
Oooh, I can’t wait to try this! I fell in love with kale, particularly lacinato, recently. I make a delicious green smoothie that even my 17 month old daughter loves. 1 apple, several carrots (purple ones are the best!), the juice from one lemon, lots of kale and spinach (or whatever greens, chard and beet greens also work well), unsweetened almond milk to whatever consistency you like, and a couple spoonfuls of plain Greek yogurt. I feel an immense amount of pride watching my little girl chic a big cup of it. 🙂
I have a question regarding kale. I’m purposely learning to like kale. I have found some organic baby kale that I really like, but I’m not fond of the texture of full grown kale. Is the full grown better for you than the more tender younger kale?
Baby kale is great! Eat up…
Had the kale salad at True Foods and fell in love. Before that, I only used it in cooked applications like soup and risotto. I will definitely try this recipe now!
We love kale grilled in summer. Wash and dry full leaves well. Toss with some EVOO and herb salt (Herbamare preferred) to coat. Grill over medium direct heat about 3 mins a side. When the tips are brown is when you turn. We fight over the crispy goodness.
That is a great idea! I’m trying that soon. Thanks.
I would say that kale chips are my favorite kale item. Kale is something that I have to learn to love! I am eating more and more each week to get used to it! I just bake the chips with a little oil on them. Even my dog licked his lips when I was making them.
This is just wonderful recipe. I tried something like this in gourmet restaurant, so always wanted to do it myself. Thank you for sharing.
I just made this for dinner and its delicious!
That’s so odd. I just had this very thing last night at GUSTO 101 in Toronto. Deeelish. And now I know how to make it! Thanks!
🙂
b
Great salad! I massaged the kale with lemon to make it more palatable before adding the dressing! Yum!
I want to make this tonight and I’m wondering how well the salad keeps with the dressing on it? Are there any wilting issues with the kale, or does it store relatively well? Thanks for the delicious looking post!
24-48 hours would be my guess. Honestly though, it is gone within seconds at my house 🙂