Massaged Kale

I don't know what's gotten into me, but kale might have overtaken spinach as my favorite green.  I've been eating a lot of it lately, and not just on pizza!  It started with slightly roasted kale (on the way to kale chips, but not crispy) and morphed into massaged kale.

Just like roasting slightly, massaging kale softens it a bit while retaining some of its hearty texture.  More approachable than eating raw kale, I'd urge you to give it a try!   You can also use olive oil instead of avocado to massage the kale, if you don't happen to have an avocado on hand.

Massaged Kale Salad
Serves 2-4

Feel free to mix up the toppings, using whatever you have on hand.  I liked the play of the sweet mango with the sea salt here, and of course the creaminess of the avocado and edamame!

1 large bunch of kale, washed, destemmed and torn into pieces
flesh of 1 avocado, roughly chopped
2T lemon juice
coarse sea salt (optional, but I like it)
1 pkg shelled, cooked edamame (fresh or frozen)
flesh of 1-2 ripe mangoes, cubed
sunflower seeds

Place the kale in a large bowl (I needed two).  Add avocado, lemon juice and sea salt, then use your hands to massage the avocado into the kale leaves.  You really want to make sure and coat all of the kale, leaving no real chunks of avocado behind.  Set this aside for a little while in the fridge.

There's no exact time to let the kale marinate, it can be as short as the time it takes you prep the rest of the ingredients or as long as a day ahead of time.

To assemble the salads, top the massaged kale with edamame, mango and sunflower seeds.


What's your favorite leafy green?