The secret to a great kale salad
Seasonal kale salad with cranberries and citrus dressing
The secret to a great kale salad is all in the dressing. I’m not referring to one specific type of dressing, but how the leaves are dressed, and for how long.
First and foremost, I recommend fresh, locally-sourced kale from your farmer’s market, independent farmer or local store. If you can’t get local, go organic. When I do this I buy the already cut and washed kale. They come in large bags. When I am ready to prep mine for salad I then go ahead and remove ALL the stems from the center of the leaves. This takes out a lot of the roughness. I also do this in bulk so that I have enough for several servings or meals.
When the kale has been de-stemmed I toss the leaves into a large bowl (as large as you can find) and then add the dressing. A large bowlful might need 1/4 - 1/2 of a cup. You want to make sure that all the leaves are very well coated so that they glisten. Kale, unlike lettuce, doesn’t wilt so you can store the leaves already dressed. In fact this is the trick to kale that’s tender. Some people massage the dressing into the kale, I do not, but if you think it helps to soften the leaves, then by all means, do it.
You can then store the kale as is or go ahead and add a few more ingredients. To the most recent bunch I added shredded (organic) multi-colored carrots and some broccoli slaw for crunch and color. To cut the acidity of the citrus dressing I love for this (recipe below) I add some dried cranberries. These are terrific added in ahead of time because they get plump and juicy when they absorb the dressing and their flavor complements the citrus so beautifully.
You can store your salad right in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, or transfer it into a tupperware-like container. Voila, it’s all made and ready to eat.
I love to add a few sprinkles of goat cheese and/or slivered almonds to the top it prior to serving. You could swap out cranberries for pomegranate seeds, leave out all the fruit and swap out the goat cheese for gorgonzola and switch the almonds for walnuts… There are so many ways to enjoy kale once it’s dressed and become tenderized.
kale leaves
kale leaves, shredded carrot and broccoli slaw
Kale salad in citrus vinaigrette
What I love about kale is that once the leaves are tenderized it’s such a versatile leaf to work with and because it doesn’t get soggy the way traditional lettuces do, you can have several days’ worth of prepared salad, which drastically reduces your prep and kitchen time.
Citrus Vinaigrette
Citrus Dressing
Citrus Vinaigrette
This dressing is the perfect blend of tangy, slightly sweet and salty.
Ingredients:
1 lemon, halved and juiced - yields roughly 1/4 cup
1/2 orange (2 clementines) juiced - yields roughly 1/4 cup
1/2 extra light olive oil
1 tablespoon dried thyme
Sea or Kosher salt to taste
Pour the freshly squeezed juice into a measuring cup and add an equal amount of olive oil, the thyme and salt. Whisk vigorously until the dressing emulsifies and becomes quite thick.
Pour 1/4 - 1/2 cup onto the leaves so that they are just coated. You do not want them swimming around in excess liquid. Pour the remaining dressing into a jar, and store for a week or so. The liquid will separate and that’s to be expected. It will emulsify again when it’s either shaken or stirred.
Kale salad with cranberries, shredded carrots and goat cheese