Food: Kale Salad

I know that when I proclaim my love for kale it can really divide the room, but this kale salad recipe is a bit different from the others. And anyway, eating kale makes me feel healthy and good about myself, so I suggest (particularly on a day you’ve been giving your liver a middle finger!), treat yourself to this lovely kale salad.

The key to this salad is the light blanching, which in my opinion makes the texture more edible. And it is seasoned with garlic and soy sauce so please try at home it really is a #snaq.

Ingredients

For the salad
500g of kale
1 carrot
2 tomatoes
1 cucumber (optional)
¼ cup of cranberries (optional)
¼ cup of roasted seeds and nuts of your choice

For the dressing
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
1 clove of garlic

Preparation

The Dressing

1. In your salad bowl, measure out the olive oil, soy sauce and vinegar and grate your clove of garlic and mix these together. Season to taste and if you want more of any of the condiments to heighten the flavour do so.

Prepping The Kale

1. Wash your kale carefully and place in a large bowl.

2. Fill up your kettle to the maximum and let that boil.

3. When the water comes to the boil pour the hot water all over the kale. Leave it in for 20 second, making sure that the kale is fully submerged.  The kale should go darker in colour and should lose its stiffness. 

4. Repeat the process if the kale still looks pale and is stiff, but this time let it sit for 10 second rather than 20.

5. Drain the kale of hot water and now let the kale rest in cold water, the colder the better. This will improve the colour and the texture. Leave it in there while you make the dressing and prep the other vegetables.

6. Grate your carrot and put that in your salad bowl. Cut the tomatoes into bite size wedges and put those into the bowl as well, if you are adding a cucumber this is the time to do that as well.

7. Now drain your kale of all water and take all water off the leaves as much as you can. 

8. When this is done start chopping the kale into bite size pieces. You can place the pieces straight into the salad bowl with the rest of the vegetables.

9. Once you have all your vegetables in the same bowl start mixing them together.

10.Now add the half the cranberries and half of the nuts and seeds and mix again.  Garnish with the rest of the nuts and seeds. Enjoy!