Massaged Kale Salad

John and I had guests over the weekend. Part of my upbringing says that you have to feed people to death to make them feel welcome. I baked some amazing Pumpkin Donut Muffins and a Sausage and Egg casserole (which will be featured in a future post) for breakfast. In the afternoon, we attended an Octoberfest celebration, and had a couple German beers. For dinner, it was steak filets, with my Potato Packets, and Fancy Pants Green Beans, a loaf of french bread and a couple glasses of wine.

We said goodbye to our friends on Sunday morning, and after all the food and beverages we had enjoyed, John and I grabbed our bikes and headed out for a ride. We love starting out at a trail close to a local farmers market. When we finish riding, we can grab some produce for the week. I found some beautiful carrots and some kale among other veggies.

I intended to lighten up our meals for the week, and even though we are pretty health conscious, we have never tried kale. There are so many ways to prepare it, but I really wanted to prepare it raw in a salad, and decided on a recipe from Chef Meg on the website Sparkrecipes.com called Massaged Kale Salad.

This Salad appealed to me because of the simple ingredients, and not one grain of salt. I also liked the idea of tenderizing it with a gentle massage of the vinaigrette. I started by removing the thick stems and tearing the kale into bite size pieces. I rinsed it several times and spun the leaves dry in my salad spinner.

I prepared a Garlic Dijon Vinaigrette, also developed by Chef Meg, by putting 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 lemon juiced and zested (about 1/4 cup), 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil into a small food processor. Run until the ingredients are combined and emulsified.

Place the kale into a large bowl, and add 4 tablespoons of the Garlic Dijon Vinaigrette, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Massage the ingredients into the kale for 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Prior to serving, I plated my kale and added thinly sliced carrots, grape tomatoes, and some honey roasted slivered almonds. The almonds added just enough sweet and salt for me. You could add any combination of nuts, vegetables, boiled egg, dried fruit, cheeses or protein. It’s so versatile.

I ate this salad for lunch with a side of fruit and was in yummy land. I had a great lunch that did the body good!

Massaged Kale Salad

Author: Julie Menghini

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Prep Time 5 mins

Total Time 20 mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword: Massaged Kale Salad

Servings: 2

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salad

• 1 bunch Kale, washed and spun dry (variety of your choice) 
• 1/4 cup lemon zested and juiced
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 
• 4 tbsp Garlic Dijon Vinaigrette

Vinaigrette

• 1 lemon juiced and zested
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

 

Salad

• Combine all ingredients into a large bowl and massage for 5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Garlic Dijon Vinaigrette

• Combine all ingredients into a small food processor and run until combined and emulsified.

Nutrition

Serving: 2gCalories: 307kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 4gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 30mgPotassium: 430mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 6494IUVitamin C: 122mgCalcium: 124mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Garlic Dijon Vinaigrette

Author: Julie Menghini

No ratings yet

Print Recipe CollectSaved! Pin Recipe

Total Time 5 mins

Notes

1 lemon juiced and zested
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients into a small food processor and run until combined and emulsified.

Recipe provided by HostessAtHeart

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

Recipe shared with *Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms: Melt in Your Mouth Monday *New Mrs Adventures: Tasty Tuesday’s *Buns In My Oven: What’s Cookin’ Wednesday *The Novice Gardener: Fiesta Friday *NewMrs Adventures: Flashback Friday