Mom's Kale Salad

5/6/2019

Mom's Kale Salad

With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, it felt like the perfect time to share my Mom's famous kale salad recipe. My mom has always been the queen of effortlessly throwing together a quick and healthy meal. She never really measures and just adds a little bit of this and a little bit of that and whatever she's making always manages to turn out so fresh and delicious. I learned how to cook just by watching her do her thing in the kitchen, and her easy, breezy, no-fuss style of cooking has always been a huge inspiration for Weeknight Bite (thanks, Mom!).  When we cook together, it's a time for us to relax, chat, gossip, and laugh, and I love that shooting this recipe together really captured the two of us in our element! 

Out of all the meals I post on my insta stories, whenever my mom's kale salad is on there, my DMs go nuts with people asking for her recipe! No surprise, salads have always been her specialty! Of course when I ask her, she always says, "It's not even a recipe! Just a handful of this, a sprinkle of that, some olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper!" It was nearly impossible to get her to commit to a real recipe to post on here, so just know that when you make this, you really don't need to measure and no matter how much of each ingredient you throw in, you really can't go wrong!

There are really only two things that are important to note with this recipe and they'll make or break your kale salad... First and most importantly, remove the stems from the kale and then give it a serious massage!

Like most people, kale is much more pleasant and enjoyable after a good massage. There's nothing worse than bitter, tough kale, and the only way to break it down and make it soft and delicious like the kale salads you order at a restaurant is to massage it. So before you add all of the ingredients, put your de-stemmed, chopped kale in a bowl, drizzle it with olive oil, and get in there with your hands and give it a nice massage until it's softened up a bit!

Secondly, load it up with delicious, colorful ingredients that have different textures and flavors, like nuts for some crunch, fruit for some juiciness, veggies, avocado (duh!), and currants or raisins for sweetness, and per my mama, make sure to chop everything nice and small like her cucumbers below! 

Alright, let's make the recipe, shall we!? Promise this will be your go-to kale salad from here on out!

Ingredients
1 large bunch Tuscan kale*, stems removed and leaves finely chopped
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
2 Persian cucumbers, chopped
1/4 cup pistachios
3 tbsp currants
1 avocado, sliced or cubed
1 apple, cubed
Optional: sprinkle of freshly-shaved Parmesan cheese

Dressing:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
Salt & pepper to taste

*We used curly kale in the photos, which works too, but Tuscan (or Lacinato or Dinosaur) kale will get a little bit softer.

Serves 3.

Instructions

1. Place chopped kale in a large bowl and drizzle with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Massage kale with olive oil until it softens a bit.
2. Add the cherry tomatoes, pistachios, and currants, one additional tbsp olive oil, and juice from half a lemon. Toss to combine and season with salt and pepper.
3. When it's time to serve, add sliced avocado, apple, and a sprinkle of Parmesan on top, if using.
4. Top or serve alongside your favorite protein.

The beauty of a kale salad is that it really doesn't get soggy, so it's just as delicious (if not more!) the next day, so feel free to double the recipe for lots of leftovers!

​Thank you to my beautiful mama for the recipe (and for the constant inspiration, love, support, and the millions of other things she does for me on a daily basis). Happy Mother's Day to all of the incredible moms out there!