Massage Your Kale for Quickie Salads

I had never heard of massaged kale until I read a blog post by Tamara at fitknitchick about making it up and keeping it in the refrigerator, in order to have a quick base for salads when you need it.

I thought it was an interesting idea, and then quite promptly forgot about it.

Now, I am a big fan of kale… I like it baked into Kale Chips, and I love using it in soup, or in my White Bean and Kale pasta sauce, and I also like to use it in place of, or with, spinach when I make Coconut Chicken.

I had really never thought to use raw as a salad green.  I just assumed the kale leaves would be too tough for that.  Oh, boy, was I wrong!

Whenever I find what we call curly kale at my local market for a really great price, I stock up.  Then I wonder what I am going to do with it all!  (Do you ever do that?)

Well, Tamara’s method for massaged kale is such a good idea.  All you do is mix the washed and torn kale leaves with a nice dressing, and then store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days… taking enough to make your salads as you need, and leaving the rest behind. 

The dressing makes the leaves a bit softer after a couple of days, and it really does make a nice base for lots of different salads.

I made a batch of massaged kale this past week using the following method and I got 3 good sized salads out of it. Now when I have salad for dinner, I have a plate full, so if you don’t eat as much as I do, you might get more servings out of it.  Of course you might want to use the whole thing for one big salad to serve many… up to you, but the method is the same.

Massaged Kale
Enough for 3 dinner salads

• 1 bunch kale, large stems removed and leaves torn… washed and dried in salad spinner

Dressing

• 1Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and minced

1. Mix well and then pour over the kale in the bowl.
2. Massage the dressing into the kale with your hands for a few minutes. Kale leaves should be completely covered with dressing mixture.
3. Cover bowl and place in refrigerator for up to 5 days
4. Use as needed for salads.  Give the remainder a stir, cover and refrigerate till needed.

If you are a Weight Watcher, and counting Points Plus, then the only thing to be concerned about is the olive oil which has a P+ value of 1 for each tsp of oil. So, for the whole recipe, the P+ value is 3.  You can divide that by the number of servings you make and eat.

The possibilities for salads are only limited by your imagination and your tastebuds. 

When I made my first salad with the massaged kale, I added a bit of torn red lettuce leaves to it… then some slices of grape tomato, mushroom, onion, and cucumber, and then topped it with some roast chicken breast, oregano, and dark balsamic vinegar.




I was so good that the next day, I used some more.  This time my salad was made of slices of red pepper, onion, mushroom, and cucumber, and topped with pieces of a navel orange, some roast pork loin and drizzled with blueberry balsamic vinegar.  I also blanched some green beans to eat alongside.

I think you could probably massage your kale with any oil and vinegar combination you like too, or even a nooch and vinegar combo instead of the olive oil and lemon juice that I used… and I am sure you could leave out the garlic too, but why would you?

Have you tried massaged kale yet?

What is your favorite salad green?