Step 1: Preparing the Salad
- 1 bunch curly kale (or your preferred variety of kale)
- 1/2 cup bell peppers (red, orange, yellow)*
- 1/4 red onion (optional)
- 1/4 bunch parsley or cilantro
- 1 lrg avocado
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
- sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Plant-Based Parmesan, optional
To prepare the salad, rinse the kale well and then tear into bite-sized pieces. Dice the peppers and red onion (if using). Finely chop the herbs and gather the rest of your mise en place.
Place the kale into a large bowl. Slice the avocado in half and pit. Score the inside of each half into a criss-cross pattern and scoop out the avocado. Add to the bowl of kale. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
Using your hands, massage the avocado into the kale for 1 to 2 minutes. Then either toss with the diced peppers and onions or plate the kale and add the remaining ingredients afterward. Adding them afterward keeps their color nice and bright. If adding the peppers and onions afterward, be sure to season them with a little oil, salt, and pepper. If adding any Plant-Based Parmesan add it now, before adding anymore seasoning.
Lastly, check for seasoning and then serve the salad immediately.
Note: Feel free to play around with this salad—add your favorite nuts, seeds, herbs and/or vegetables. It is also nice when served with Crumbled Tempeh — it also makes it more of a whole meal.
Chef's Notes
A few things to keep in mind when massaging kale, first off, don’t go too crazy and over massage it, otherwise it will become somewhat soggy. You are just looking to massage it enough that the greens become a bit softer and like they have started to break down a bit. Remember that any acid and/or dressing will further break the leaves down as they hang out together.
When should you massage kale? For the most part, you only need to do it when the pieces are quite large and for a salad that you are planning to serve immediately. If you finely chop or shred kale, there is no real need to massage it as the pieces are less rigid and pokey. We also don’t recommend massaging baby kale as it is tender enough, to begin with.
One final note about the kale for this salad, we have tried many varieties for this salad and the simple green curly kale is still our favorite — that being said, feel free to do your own experiments to see what you prefer.