Recipe of the Week: Kale Slaw
This past fall, I really fell for kale. In fact I’m quite krazy for it. When I was in the exhausting throes of moving, I’d stop at a local juice deli and get a kale, apple, and lemon juice, and afterward always felt a boost in energy and mood. Now that we’ve moved in and I have my beloved Vita-Mix, I make a kale smoothie about every other day. Now, don’t make a face, it’s really delicious. It’s combined with banana, vanilla soymilk or ricemilk, and a pear or apple.
One of my favorite ways to use kale is raw, in this slaw-like salad. There’s a nifty trick to using raw kale: you “massage” it to make pleasantly crisp and bright green. This salad does not need to be made with scientific precision. Use more or less of each ingredient per your taste, and try the variations listed below.
Kale Slaw
Makes about 6 servings
- 1 good sized bunch kale
- A little olive oil
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup raisins, to your liking
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup raw or toasted cashew pieces, also to your liking
- 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise, or as needed to moisten
- A splash of lemon juice, fresh or bottled
Cut the midribs away from the leaves and discard. Rinse the leaves and spin or pat dry. Cut the leaves into short, thin shreds and place in a bowl.
Put a dime-sized drop of olive oil in your palm and rub the inside of your hands with it. Reach into the bowl and massage the kale for a minute or two, until it softens and turns bright green.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir together. Serve at once or cover and let stand at room temperature until needed.
Variations and additions: Substitute dried cranberries for the raisins; substitute chopped walnuts or pecans for the cashews (or really, any kind of nut). Good additions to the salad are a small amount of thinly shredded red or white cabbage, shredded carrots, and/or thinly sliced celery.
Courtney said,
January 7, 2008 @ 8:17 pm
Great to see you blogging again! I LOVE putting greens (kale, spinach, collards, etc) in my smoothies—it is so good! Thanks for this recipe…I love kale too.
Courtney
Susan G said,
January 13, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
I am the person who buys greens with good intentions, then finally resigns them to the compost. Occasionally I force the issue. Maybe this recipe is the way to go. I did find a way to save the last one I bought…it was a small bok choy, which I put in water like cut flowers, covered with a plastic produce bag. It revived and found its way at last into a tasty Kwanza stew. Nava, thanks for giving us your blog again. It’s always been inspiring.
Nava said,
January 13, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
Susan, I used to be that way with greens, too. Now, between this easy salad, which I find almost addictive, and the smoothies, the kale never goes to waste. At this point in my life, I really need the calcium, too!
And Courtney, thanks for backing me up on the green smoothies.
SusanV said,
January 16, 2008 @ 11:06 am
I am really excited by this recipe! I’ve never heard of massaging oil into kale, but I’m really interested in trying it, especially since so little oil is used.
Great to see you blogging again, too!
SuzyQ said,
January 24, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
Thanks for teaching us about kale. I am supposed to eat it and I want to like it, but it’s always so strong and didn’t have a good “mouth feel” in the recipes I tried it in. I think I didn’t cook it long enough, but I don’t like to cook veggies until they are dead. What’s the point of eating dead veggies?! So, I am off to the market today with a friend and I will purchase kale and try the ideas you suggested. I just remembered the one way I did try it and it was delicious: roasted kale from Vegetable Heaven. I couldn’t believe I was roasting this stuff, but it was remarkably good. Thanks again!
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