Miss L’s kale salad
Miss L has been hooked on kale for a long time. She was born right around the time that the kale chip “fad” emerged, so she was subject to my kitchen experiments to try and transform an incredibly dense leafy green into something delectable. I did something right, in that my recipe got her hooked on those chips and a gigantic bunch of $1 kale began coming home from Farmer’s Market every Sunday after that.
So when I flipped upon a recipe for kale salad in Martha Stewart Living a few months ago, I tore it out and told Miss L all about it. And at Farmer’s Market that week, we replenished our supply of hard dates, kale and avocados. But there was one big problem: the kale in this recipe was raw. And while I may have conquered my fear of leafy vegetables, I still can’t tackle the density of raw kale. It’s just… well… RAW. So we improvised, and decided to just cook up the kale a few minutes short of chips and use that instead! And dear friends… we can’t get enough of this stuff! In fact, Miss L eats at least 3 portions each time we make it!
- 1 bunch kale (curly or Dinosaur) with the stems removed, leaves separated or thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Lemon
- 2 ripe avocados, cut into 1/4-inch slices
- 2 ounces Parmesan, shaved
- 8 large or 10 medium dry dates, pitted and cut into slivers
- Salt and pepper
- Set the oven to 400 degrees.
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″><span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>Separate</span> or cut the leaves. Spray or toss with a light coating of olive oil. Lay out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for 5-10 minutes, until the leaves start to crisp up.</span>
- <span class=”mceItemHidden” data-mce-bogus=”1″>Remove the leaves from the oven. Mix the kale, avocado, <span class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”” data-mce-bogus=”1″>Parmesean</span> and dates together with the remaining olive oil. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon into the bowl and mix again.</span>
3 Comments
Katie
Yes, I tried kale in my smoothies and it was just so… pulpy. Too much for me. Looks like a tasty salad! :)
Kim
I could not begin to imagine drinking raw kale. Cooked kale = crunchy & yummy.
Kate
When you do a good oil massage with the kale beforehand it completely changes the texture. I highly recommend it.