Easiest Kale Massaging!
Kale is a really tough green and needs to be massaged before eating in a (raw) kale salad. Generally folks will use their hands to massage their kale – I find it way easier and much less messy (and maybe more hygienic) to massage it with my stand mixer!
I like to use the Lacinato (dino, Tuscan) kale variety, but any kale or tough green will work. You want to stem the (cleaned) kale first by grasping the kale around the tough stem and pull upward – pulling the leaf off the tough stem. Then tear your kale leaves into bite sized portions.
Add your kale to your stand mixer bowl – I can usually massage a large bunch or about 7 cups bite sized pieces at a time (in a 5 qt. bowl). I add oil, lemon and salt before I start massaging. (This dresses the salad for you and aids in the massage process!) Then, you’ll use your flat beater (paddle) to do the massaging! Let it massage for a few minutes – add your toppings – and you’re good to go with your delicious (and much easier to chew) kale salad!
Stand Mixer Massaged Kale Salad
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Flat (paddle) beater
Ingredients
Basic Massaged Kale:
- 7 cups Lacinato Kale (cleaned, stemmed, torn into bite sized pieces) Lacinato/Dino/Tuscan Kale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice plus more to taste
Toppings Ideas:
- grape tomatoes, halved
- Pecorino or Parmesan Cheese
- Pistachios (roasted, salted) chopped
- red onion
- black pepper
Instructions
Prepare Kale:
- Clean kale, remove leaves from tough center stem and tear into bite sized pieces.
Massage Kale:
- Add kale pieces to stand mixer bowl. Drizzle with oil, lemon juice and salt. Use flat beater(paddle) and run stand mixer on low speed then increase to a mid-speed for several minutes or until the kale has brightened in color and become more tender.
- Note: If using grated cheese in your salad such as Parmesan or Pecorino – I like to mix it with the kale leaves toward the end of the massaging – it kind of "melts in" and coats the leaves with flavor.
Finish Salad:
- Drizzle with additional oil and/or lemon juice if needed. Add your toppings to your salad and serve!
Francine McGriff
I made the Kale Salad tonight and it was so delicious. It was a very simple salad to prepare. I cheated a little, I brought the bagged Kale and removed the stems and I tossed the greens for approximately 20 minutes. Excellent salad and I will have it in my weekly rotation
Christina Verrelli
Glad you enjoyed Francine!