Raw Kale Salad

Kale is one of my, if not my very, favorite dark green. I cook it a lot of different ways, especially lately since it’s in its prime in early Spring, but I recently learned a great way to eat it raw. This idea came from a good friend of mine who taught it to my mother, who then made it for me a few weeks ago. The way I did it tonight is different, I think, than Lani does it because I think her version used nuts, but she had such a great idea using the avocado and I’m so happy I’ve learned it. You’re essentially making a salad with kale as the main component and the dressing uses fresh citrus juice as the acid and the flesh of an avocado as the fat. Brilliant.

What I did tonight serves 4-6 people, depending on how large your portions are-

-Thinly slice 1 small onion and put it in the largest, most giant-est bowl you own.
-Peel and supreme 1 large ruby red grapefruit and 1 large navel orange and add to the onion. Squeeze all the juice from the fruit into the bowl before discarding. This is the bulk of your dressing so squeeze ’em good.
-Season this with about 2-3 TB of sugar and a couple of pinches of s&p to taste. It should be equally sweet and tart. (This is something you can do ahead of time, to allow the onions to soften a bit in the acid, but that’s not necessary.)

-Trim and wash 1 lb. of fresh kale and add to the bowl. If you have really large leaves, you may need to tear them up a bit.

Be sure to notice how much the kale will shrink down in the end!

-Toss well to coat the kale in the juice. (This is where that really big bowl is key. I had to use 2 bowls because I didn’t know any better.)
-Now this is where it gets fun and very messy:

-Spoon or squeeze out the flesh from 1 large Hass avocado, mush it with your fingers in the bowl and firmly massage it into the kale leaves. Really get this into all the nooks and crannies of the greens. You will soon begin to notice the leaves breaking down and wilting due to the acid and your excellent massage. (side note-this is really good for dry hands!) Don’t do this step more than an hour before serving or it will break down too much and you won’t be left with a lot.
-Once everything is well coated, taste and check for seasoning.

We had ours tonight with a simple roasted Pork Tenderloin because the main focus of our plate was this salad. It was incredibly simple and delicious-

Thanks for the inspiration, Lani!

(see also, Balsamic Raw Kale Salad)