Massaged Kale Salad

Massaged Kale Salad

This recipe was adapted from Aarti Sequeira's (Aarti Party, Food Network) recipe, found here.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale (black kale is especially good), stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced


• 1 lemon, juiced


• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling


• Kosher salt


• 2 teaspoons honey


• Freshly ground black pepper


• 1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)


• Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), about 2 rounded tablespoons

Directions:

In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.

In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.

Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Adrienne's Notes: There's no need to remove the stalks on these little baby kale. I couldn't find pumpkin seeds at the grocery store, so I substituted toasted walnuts (toasted in the oven at 375 degrees until fragrant, about ten minutes). I also bought a mango that turned out to be brown on the inside, even though it was firm and only starting to turn red and orange on the outside. Bummers, huh? So I substituted strawberries there. I wanted to use a substitute fruit that would match the texture of the mango and fit in with the citrusy dressing. Both substitutions worked well! I'm sure the original recipe is delicious, too. Massaging the kale in the lemon acid and olive oil is the secret. This softens the leaves up and takes away some of their bitterness. I must have eaten about four cups of kale this way (it shrank down after the massage). In the short time during which I've experimented with kale, this is the BEST way to have it! And it's raw. Bonus!

Above: kale salad, take two. This time, I found a good mango and pepitas (pumpkin seeds). The salad is good, but I wouldn't use pumpkin seeds next time-- they're too chewy. I'd use macadamia nuts.