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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Will make this for sure. Sounds delicious. Thank you Vani. I’m a true fan. Don’t let the haters get to you, just keep fighting for honesty and good food.
I have read that kale needs to be cooked 7 minutes if you have thyroid problems. The article stated raw kale effects thyroid. Is this true?? Thanks for all you do. Blessings!!
I like to add kale to soups like chicken noodle or lemon rice. It holds up well and adds veggies.
Massage kale with olive oil. Add 21 Seasoning Salute from Trader Joe’s or a similar spice blend, garlic powder, Pink Himalayan salt, and cracked black pepper to taste. Add balsamic vinegar and mix. Add slivered almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, and chia seeds. I usually just coat the top of the ingredients with the spices, oil, and vinegar. Just use a few grinds each of salt and pepper. Tomatoes and avocados also taste great with this salad. Super tasty, healthy, and easy to make.
Coat the top of the salad to figure out how much to use. 21 Seasoning Salute is salt-free, so I generously use it on everything.
And use everything organic that you can! Kale is especially important to buy organic. It tends to have a lot of pesticides.
I love garlic.
Hi Vani! I loved your book! One questions: I am dying to make this salad, but am allergic to all dairy. What can I substitute for the salty flavor of the cheese or can I just leave it out? Thank you!
Try sprinkling in some nutritional yeast instead!! It is a great vegan substitute for that cheesy flavor you want!
I add kale to soups and to my omelettes and sandwiches and wraps.
I am eating this as I write. So good. I used a 10 oz organic Tuscan (what I found) kale bag from Trader Joe. Did not know if it was worth 1 or 2 bunches so I doubled the dressing but kept everything else the same. So delicious. Thanks!