Everyone has those recipes they get asked for time and time again…well believe it not, this kale salad is one of them. I know…. kale. But I swear on my Led Zeppelin III vinyl album cover that it’s really, really good. Also, it’s the type of recipe where you don’t really need to measure everything out exactly… if you want more carrot, less carrot, fine. Just get the proportions on the liquid ingredients, garlic and ginger about right and you’ll be good to go. I first saw this recipe years ago on a wonderful vegetarian blog I used to read (fresh365) but one day the blog disappeared and all the yummy recipes with it. Sad face. Luckily I had it printed out and saved all this time. So what better place to keep it stored than on the world wide web?
I love that this recipe has a host of simple fresh ingredients and some pantry stapes…so really, anytime I have kale around it’s easy to whip out this salad. Sesame oil and sesame seeds might not be staples for everyone, but I use them enough to keep them around regularly. And I always have fresh ginger in the freezer, it keeps f o r e v e r. Also, when was the last time “massage” was an integral step in a recipe? Too long probably. Because kale leaves are so hearty, you’re actually going to massage the liquids into the kale and let it sit for a while to sort of relax the leaves a bit. This is a great salad for picnics and get togethers because you can leave it out for quite a while without the kale going bad.
So there you go. You’re new summer salad picnic staple.
Enjoy + happy Monday.
Sesame Kale Salad
Ingredients
1 large buch kale or about 4 cups
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
3 tbls rice vinegar
1 tbls toasted sesame oil
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls olive oil
1 carrot, shredded
2 tbls minced red onion
1 tbls sesame seeds
parmesan cheese to taste (optional)
In a large bowl add the kale, garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil and soy sauce. with your hands, massage the kale leaves for 1-2 minutes, until the ingredients are well mixed. Add the red onion, carrot and sesame seeds, tossing well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let sit at least 20 minutes. If desired garnish with Parmesan cheese before serving.
