0

I plan on making a raw kale salad for a large group and was wondering if there is another technique besides massaging it with my hands, which will likely get sore after breaking down a large quantity of kale.

Other than cooking or slicing the raw kale, is there a shortcut or tool I could use to make easier work of massaging the fresh kale?

Jeff Axelrod
  • 4,940
  • 29
  • 60
  • 81
  • 1
    I have never massaged kale, eat it raw in salads and sandwiches regularly, and am not sure what you're referring to. Is this to make it into smaller pieces or to soften it somehow while leaving it in whole leaves? – Kate Gregory Jan 31 '14 at 16:09
  • @KateGregory you still cut it into bite-sized pieces, but it's to break it down, making it more tender--similar to a blanch but while retaining more texture. It's a very common technique for kale salads--look it up. – Jeff Axelrod Jan 31 '14 at 16:17
  • I'm kinda with Kate on this, I think it's perfect as-is. Maybe next time I'll try this out, but I still insist that the fastest way to do something is to not do it at all. – Doug Kavendek Feb 01 '14 at 01:58

2 Answers2

2

If you put batches of cut kale into a ricer like the Oxo one shown below, and give it a good hard squeeze until a little of the kale juice comes out, it will make easier work of the massaging process. You should see the kale come out broken down as much as when massaged by hand. If not, squeeze again.

I do it over the salad bowl to capture the juices as well as any dropped leaves. It seemed to work more easily with lacinato (dinosaur) kale than curly leaf.

Oxo Ricer

Community
  • 1
Jeff Axelrod
  • 4,940
  • 29
  • 60
  • 81
1

Huffington Post, in their article on kale massage, says:

If rubbing your greens is not something you can get into, kale also calms its wintery ways if tossed in olive oil and left to sit overnight.

SAJ14SAJ
  • 72,735
  • 13
  • 153
  • 231