Best Kale Salad Recipe - Cooking Classy (2024)

FAQs

Best Kale Salad Recipe - Cooking Classy? ›

If desired, season the sautéed kale with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. For more flavor, try sautéing kale in this hearty lentil skillet or with some prosciutto and sweet potatoes.

If desired, season the sautéed kale with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. For more flavor, try sautéing kale in this hearty lentil skillet or with some prosciutto and sweet potatoes.

In a large bowl combine the kale with oil and salt. Using your hands, massage the kale for 3 minutes until the kale softens. Toss with the lemon juice and grated cheese and serve.

Curly Kale

This type of kale has oblong or obovate-shaped leaves with white veins; the fleshy,waxy leaves are attached to long, sturdy, and fibrous stems. Curly kale offers a rich, hearty, and woody flavor that adds an earthy tone when consumed raw in salads and smoothies.

Bitter greens are leafy greens or vegetables that have an intense bitter flavor profile. They include kale, mustard greens, collards, turnip greens, broccoli rabe, radicchio, chicory, and endive. The bitterness comes from chemical compounds called glucosinolates that can be found in the Brassica family.

Well, the nutrients in kale are more intact when raw. But if you think the taste is not at all appetizing, you can simply make a nice salad dressing that will cover up the bland taste of kale. To keep it simple, some lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper should make a good seasoning to raw kale.

Use salt.

Salt is a friend to bitter greens, whether you plan to eat them raw or cooked. Mellow the bitter flavor with a sprinkle of salt on endive or radicchio, or include anchovies or cured meat (like bacon, pancetta, or proscuitto) along with mustard, beet, or collard greens.

Kale will benefit from some gentle kneading to soften its texture. A bit of oil can help to break down the fibrous membranes as well. Here's how: Wash the kale and remove the leaves from the stems. Tear the leaves into smaller pieces and rub them in your hands with olive oil and salt.

Adding salt and squeezing lemon make a big difference by removing bitterness. Adding some spicy or sweet flavors may help tame the strong flavor of bitter kale.

Blanching kale allows it to hold onto its color, as well as many of its nutrients. Kale that has been boiled too long appears wilted and gray. The nutrients leach into the water, which you can use to make a stock.

Should you massage kale for a salad? ›

The point of massaging is to infuse the kale with the lemon juice and oil, and also to break down some of the tough, fibrous characteristics of kale. This makes it easier to chew and digest, and makes for a more tender salad. Season with salt, massage/toss once more, then set aside.

Vegetables: Kale can be paired with other vegetables such as bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and tomatoes.

Russian Kale Is the Best Type of Kale to Cook

The frilly leaves tend to be softer and a bit sweet than other varieties. While red Russian kale tends to branch out, I prefer the leaves when they're smaller, before they develop a slight peppery taste with maturity—a good reason to harvest sooner rather than later.

RELATED: Believe It Or Not, Kale Actually Lives Up To All Of Its Hype—Here's Why. Manganiello says you can eat kale every day, just don't overdo it. She recommends one to two servings maximum of kale per day, leaving room for other healthy foods that provide an assortment of nutrients.

Add Sweet to Kale: Sweet foods go well with kale because they counter its rather bitter taste. Serve curly kale up as a salad with simple ingredients like a blood orange, mango and slivered almonds or apple, feta and toasted walnuts or cook kale up with caramelized onion.

Kale is fibrous and can be difficult to munch compared to other greens like romaine lettuce or spinach. The rubbing, kneading motion helps to tenderize the veg and make it easier to chew and digest. Try this for raw kale you are going to be serving or eating right away.