XXL Silicone Bag
One gallon, leakproof, lies flat in the fridge. A whole week in one bag.
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Massaged Kale Salad
Raw kale is tough because the cell walls are intact. Squeeze it with salt and oil for two minutes and those walls break down: the leaves turn dark green, halve in volume and go from chewy to tender. That is the entire recipe and it is the step nearly everyone skips. Doing it inside a sealed bag rather than a bowl means the whole batch gets worked evenly, nothing ends up on the counter, and your hands stay clean. Unlike every other salad, this one is better the next day.
Ingredients
- 2 large bunches lacinato kale, about 16 cups chopped
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup toasted almonds or pepitas
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries or chopped dates
- Black pepper, to taste
Directions
- Strip the kale leaves off the stems and tear them into bite-sized pieces. Wash and dry them thoroughly, because wet leaves will not take the dressing.
- Put the kale in the bag with the olive oil and salt. Seal it with a little air still inside.
- Squeeze and knead the bag with both hands for a full 2 minutes. The leaves darken, soften and lose about half their volume. When the pile looks half the size it was, you are done.
- Whisk the lemon juice, garlic and Dijon in a small bowl and pour it into the bag. Turn the bag over a few times to coat.
- Let it sit 10 minutes, or refrigerate up to 2 days. This is the rare salad that improves as it waits.
- Tip into a bowl and toss with the parmesan, toasted nuts, dried fruit and plenty of black pepper just before serving.
Tips and variations
- Massage the full 2 minutes. Thirty seconds does nothing and is the reason most people think they dislike kale salad.
- Salt and oil before the acid. Lemon juice first sets the leaves and they never soften properly.
- Lacinato, also sold as dino or Tuscan kale, is more tender than curly. Curly works but needs an extra minute of squeezing.
- Toast the nuts. Two minutes in a dry pan is the difference between a garnish and something worth chewing.
- Dress it a day ahead and add the nuts and cheese at the table so they stay crisp.
The bag this recipe is built around
Massaging kale in a bowl throws leaves across the counter and leaves your hands slick with oil. Sixteen cups of kale fits in the XXL Blue bag, and a sealed gallon bag lets you work the whole batch with both hands from the outside. Food-grade silicone takes that kind of squeezing without splitting, which a thin plastic bag will not, and it goes in the dishwasher afterwards.
See the Blue XXL Bag
Common questions
- Why do you massage kale
- Squeezing kale with salt and oil breaks down the tough cell walls. The leaves turn darker, halve in volume and become tender enough to eat raw without chewing through them.
- How long should you massage kale
- A full 2 minutes. You will see the change: the leaves darken and the pile shrinks by about half. Less than that and the kale stays tough.
- How long does massaged kale salad keep
- Four days dressed in the fridge, and unlike lettuce salads it gets better for the first day or two. Add nuts and cheese just before serving.
- What kind of kale is best for salad
- Lacinato, also called dino or Tuscan kale. It is flatter and more tender than curly kale. Curly works, but give it an extra minute of massaging.
More salad recipes
Keep the ones that work
Copy this one onto a 4x6 card. Title across the top, the ten ingredients down the left, the six steps down the right, and Serves 8, Massage 2 min along the header. File it behind the Salads divider. Built to outlast the screenshot.
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