Kale massage

This is not about some new spa treatment. Rather, it is about me massaging the kale.

(But the spa treatment may have possibilities. Imagine getting a rubdown with handfuls of the stiff curly variety.)

The kale is still growing strong here in southern Michigan and I have access to an unlimited supply. So when directed to bring a salad to a potluck yesterday I immediately thought of kale. But raw kale is too tough for salads. Chew, chew, chew, and then chew some more!

So when my daughter mentioned that a friend had served up a delicious kale salad into which she had massaged the dressing, I was intrigued. Later I woke in the night with a vision of a kale salad massaged with some leftover apricot vinaigrette I had on hand. I would top the salad with oranges and toasted almonds.

The vision was so yummy that it nearly kept me up the rest of the night.

Yesterday I dived right in and massaged that kale into a yummy salad. My technique was messier than it needed to be but the results were terrific. Today I googled “massage kale” and found out how I really should have done it and that, of course, many cooks had already tried this.

First you grab those kale leaves and pull them off the stringiest part of the ribs. (Well, first wash and dry the kale and your hands.) Then you cut the leaves into thin ribbons and put them into a big bowl with whatever dressing you are using. You grab, squeeze, and rub that kale until it turns a rich dark green. It becomes tender! Add whatever other ingredients you desire to the salad.

There are many recipes for massaged kale salad on the internet. Here’s mine.

Practical Mystic’s Massaged Kale Salad with Oranges and Almonds

A big pile of kale, enough that the shredded leaves fill a big mixing bowl.

Dressing: Soak 3-4 dried apricots in hot water to cover. Blend them into a puree, adding water as needed. Add 2 T. vinegar (I used pomegranate flavored wine vinegar) and ¼ c. olive oil, plus up to 1 t. salt to taste and some ground pepper.

Pour about half of this onto the kale and do the massage thing for a minute or two. Taste. Does it need more dressing? Vinegar? Salt? Pepper?

Place in a nice wide salad bowl and top with 1 or 2 oranges chopped small and 1/3 c. toasted sliced almonds.

The bowl was practically licked clean by the end of the church potluck. Tonight I’m going to try a salad of massaged kale with avocado and sunflower seeds.