Making Kale Salad? Then You’ll Want to Know This Secret!
Kale, what a fantastic vegetable it is. From kale mash to kale chips, kale pesto or—and this really is a treat—kale salad. Want to make the most delicious kale salad? I’ll reveal the ultimate trick.
Kale sounds a little… Well, rustic to us. Yet in America, it’s pretty much the trendiest vegetable there is. Kale is what they call it there, and I also think that sounds just a little cooler than the Dutch word for kale. Americans use kale in completely different ways than we do. Kale smoothies and kale salads are perfectly normal there. Thank God we’re also eating this green vegetable in more and more ways.
Kale salad: incredibly versatile
I’ve completely discovered kale salad recently. I think it’s insanely delicious with an apple, some goat cheese and walnuts mixed in. If I want to make it a little more filling, I add a grain. I recently tried couscous, but quinoa or bulgur are also fantastic options.
Massage it, baby
In principle, kale is the perfect base for a salad. But you do need to make the vegetable taste good. Raw kale can taste quite bitter and even feel a little tough in your mouth. The solution? Give the kale a massage! By kneading the leaves firmly, they become softer and easier to chew. The flavor also becomes milder. And another plus: the kale absorbs the dressing you add to the salad much better.
Squeeze it
Massaging kale is simple. If you buy the vegetable in a bag, it’s probably already finely chopped. If you bring home fresh kale with the leaves still attached, you’ll need to take care of the chopping yourself. Once you’ve done that, grab a large bowl. Put your dressing in it. I think a dressing made with mustard, olive oil and lemon is delicious. Then add the kale to the bowl, wash your hands and start massaging. The easiest way is to squeeze the dressing into the kale, as it were.
After your massage, add the other ingredients to your salad and voilà, you’ve got a kale salad that even the Americans would say “you” to. Or you, I mean.
Want even more kale?
Then listen to the episode about kale from Wat Schaft De Podcast. And true kale fans, of course, have it carved into their calendars: October 24 is National Kale Day!
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