Massaged Kale Salad (Aarti Sequeira)

"I LOVE Aarti and this is one of the first recipes she did when she became The Next Food Network Star. I had never tried Kale before but this salad looked so good when she made it I decided to try it. I tasted the Kale on the way home from the grocery store and was worried because it tasted bitter. No need to worry! The massaging technique turns the bitter coarse kale into tender bright green ribbons. The mango, honey and lemon give this salad the PERFECT balance of flavors."
 
Download
photo by Lori Mama photo by Lori Mama
photo by Lori Mama
photo by mommyluvs2cook photo by mommyluvs2cook
photo by Chicagoland Chef du photo by Chicagoland Chef du
photo by Lilmsbritches photo by Lilmsbritches
Ready In:
10mins
Ingredients:
8
Serves:
4
Advertisement

ingredients

  • 1 bunch kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced (Aarti says black kale is especially good but I just used regular)
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 14 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  • kosher salt (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 mango, diced small (about 1 cup)
  • 2 tablespoons toasted pumpkin seeds (the recipe says, Small handful toasted pepitas but I couldn't find them so used toasted sunflower se)
Advertisement

directions

  • In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside while you make the dressing.
  • In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.
  • Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. This is a fantastic salad. I did not change any ingredients, but I had read somewhere to massage it 5-6 minutes--so I did that. My kale was not young, so I was a little worried about it. Delicious!
     
  2. This is the new favorite salad at our house, and so easy to make. I was skeptical about a salad with raw kale, as I've only ever considered kale a cooked green. The combination of the lemon juice, sweel mangos, and pepitas makes for a great salad. The kale holds up well without wilting and can even be served the next day (if there's any left). We've gone from a household that never had kale and mangos on hand, to eating this salad at least twice a week.
     
  3. I made this last night and was pleasantly surprised. I typically am not attracted to fruit in my salad and wasn't sure about the honey as part of the dressing. The result was delicious! Not too sweet and different than the usual salad line-up. I did make a few adjustments: I massaged the kale with the juice of one whole lemon and added an extra half later with the dressing. I used two ripe peaches as my fruit and I added cooked quinoa to give it some more bite and variation. Give it a try!
     
  4. This won over a dinner party of 6 people. Everyone loved it! This was super-easy (I omitted the pepitas and seeds as we didn't have them) and I will definitely make again! Thanks!
     
  5. Kale is one of my go to greens these days for it's healthful benefits. I use it in salads, but not as one. Massaging it does break it down and is more palatable. I think my lemon was a tad big, as I found the dressing to be a tad tart, so next time I will cut back a bit. Took it to a potluck and everyone enjoyed it. :)
     
Advertisement

Tweaks

  1. This is definitely a "keeper" recipe; however, we use cleaned and spun drained bagged baby spinach instead of kale and we don't go through the whole trimming process. Without reservation, I offer a 5 star rating!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I grew up in Tucson but moved to Colorado in 1989 and live in a household with my husband, Dad, daughter and 3-year old twin granddaughters. Our 8-year old grandson spends 2 nights a week with us. All of that adds up to often difficult menu ideas to met everyone's tastes. Zaar is very addicting and I love trying the recipes I find here. I like to find recipes of people that I see are still active on Zaar and love it when I hear back from the Chef after I review the recipe. Everytime someone reviews one of my recipes, I like to find one of theirs to make and review as quickly as possible. It's a way for me to find great chefs I don't know yet too! My husband has high blood sugar so we try to watch our carbs, but it is not easy because we love them so much! I was diagnosed with brain tumors in 2005 and so far have had 5 surgeries that have left my eyelid droopy. I hope to have a surgery that will correct that soon!! There is still one tumor they have not removed but my wonderful doctor James Garrity at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN says they will leave it alone until or if it ever causes problems!
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes