This beautiful kale salad uses the best of winter produce and tastes delicious. It is actually called massaged salad because the leaves are muddled to make them softer and to break down their tough fibers.

Botanists agree that modern cruciferous vegetables developed from wild plants in the eastern Mediterranean region. Throughout the centuries, they retained their unadulterated bitter taste, one that is often missing on our modern menu. Cruciferous vegetables are the healthiest food available, thanks to the compound glucosinolate, which is also responsible for their bitter flavor and high levels of antioxidants. The average person eats only ½ cup of crucifers per year (!) as opposed to 250 cups of potatoes. Cruciferous vegetables are best when enjoyed as fresh as possible to retain their nutrients. Cooking them destroys the nutrients. From a nutrition standpoint, kale is the king of crucifers because it exceeds the nutritional value even of wild greens. One serving of kale has more calcium than six ounces of milk and more fiber than three slices of whole-wheat bread, yet on average, we consume only six ounces per person per year (Robinson). This is why this massaged kale salad is a winner!

Kale Salad

Magda Born

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Course Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch Curly Kale (washed and dried)
1/4 c Parmigiana cheese
1/2 c Pomegranate seeds
Juice from one lemon
3 cloves Garlic (finely minced)

Instructions

Gather your ingredients together
Cut the thick stem away with a sharp knife and tear the remaining leaves by hand. The stems can be frozen and reused in vegetable soup or sautéed with other vegetables at a later date.
Place kale leaves in a bowl and drizzle with lemon juice. Mix well and massage the leaves while turning them around to make sure you are rotating the leaves. When the leaves look “wilted,” are a little darker in color, shinier, and reduced by about half, they are done. Add the garlic and mix well. Add parmigiana cheese and garnish with pomegranate seeds.