Now that all the tender greens are done, but it’s 95 degrees and I don’t want to cook, I decided to try something I’ve been wondering about: raw kale as a salad green.
The common wisdom on kale, like collards and other hearty greens, is that they need to be at least blanched and preferably flavored with something to balance their more harsh flavor. I don’t really find kale to have a sharp flavor, but it has seemed too tough for salad.
According to Steve’s daughters, however, raw kale salads are all the rage in New York City. I’ve been dying to try it but not sure how to go about softening up the kale. With a visit to the farm from a young man who picked up good cooking skills on the East Coast, I got another little nudge.
My sister-in-law Annie said that Gabriel just rubbed the kale between his hands. So today I rubbed the kale between my hands, and yes indeed, it softened up, turned darker green, but did not get wrecked or bruised as I’d feared. I was able to put the softened kale on the cutting board and chop it up for the salad. Later, I watched some Youtube videos and they veined and chopped the kale first and then “massaged” it with their hands for up to two minutes (which seriously reduces the bulk and makes it kind of wet). They also added salt before massaging, and one added olive oil as well.
Not me. I just rubbed the leaves between my hands until they were soft enough to eat.
Then I topped it with a sliced beet, a little of the white-wine-pickled herring and sliced radishes. I could have toasted walnuts or pine nuts, but I was too impatient. Strong cheese, carrots, chopped egg would also be good toppings. Anything, really.
For dressing, I did mix the chopped greens with olive oil and pear-infused white balsamic vinegar. I am really loving the light fruit-infused vinegars by Alessi this summer. The fig-infused one was amazing. They’re pricey, but you don’t use much.