Massaged Kale Salad with Scallions, Lemon and Cashews
Massaged Kale Salad with Scallions, Lemon and Cashews
This is one of my all time favorite salads and I make it at least a few times each month. It's a tasty healthy salad with juicy citrus flavor and a long shelf life. It's a great make ahead salad for packed lunches, potlucks or parties.
Sometimes I change up the cashews for toasted hazelnuts, pecans, pine nuts or whatever else I have on hand and although I really like using the shredded broccoli stems, I have used shredded zucchini and cucumber in this salad and they were great substitutes! I think carrot would be a pretty add too.
Remove the stems from the kale and chop it into bite size pieces. Then in a medium size bowl add a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt and massage firmly with your hands until the leaves are soft and stop making the crackling sound you will hear when you start crushing it in your hands. This takes about 2 minutes.
Add the chopped scallions to a good quality salad or olive oil and warm gently on low heat to infuse the oil.
Do you eat the broccoli stems? I do, I cut them into chunks when I steam the broccoli florets. This is my next favorite way to eat them.
I shred my broccoli with this little gadget. It works like a dream but don't cut yourself! It's amazingly sharp. This tool is perfect for shredding carrots, apples, zucchini and cucumber too!
Zest and squeeze your lemon, chop your cashews, shred some Parmesan and you're ready to assemble the salad.
Mix everything together, toss well and you have a beautiful green gem of a salad with salty juicy citrus flavor that packs all kinds of nutrients and antioxidants plus fiber and protein to help keep you going. This really could be a meal in itself.
Enjoy!
~Melisa
Massaged Kale Salad with Scallions, Lemon and Cashews
Ingredients
1 bunch of curly kale
1/4 cup finely sliced scallion
1/4 cup shredded or shaved Parmesan
1 large broccoli stalk shredded
1/4 cup coarsely chopped roasted and salted cashews
1/4 cup quality olive oil + one teaspoon
3-4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest (optional)
salt and pepper to taste + 1 teaspoon salt to massage into the kale
Method
Remove stems from kale and chop into bite size pieces then in a medium size bowl add a teaspoon of oil and a teaspoon of salt and massage firmly with your hands until the leaves are soft and it stops making the crackling sound you will hear when you start crushing it in your hands.
Set aside the kale while you prep the rest of the ingredients.
Add the scallion to 1/4 cup oil and warm gently over a low heat. While the scallion oil warms, shred the broccoli stem into julienne strips and chop the roasted cashews coarsely.
Add the shredded broccoli stems, Parmesan cheese, scallion oil, cashews, lemon zest (if using), and lemon juice to the massaged kale and toss well.
Salt & freshly cracked pepper to taste.
This keeps well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Perfect for a make ahead salad.
