Please see our affiliate notice, located on the sidebar. Thank you for supporting Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household!

Sunday, March 10, 2024

How to Prepare A Lacinato Kale Tossed Salad, easy prep with delicious results.

I have become a fan of Lacinato Kale in my salad bowl. For me, a salad with a bit of "chew" as well as enough structure to hold onto the dressing is my favorite choice in salad greens. You will probably find a few other names for this type of kale such as Dinosaur Kale, and Tucson Kale. My local market offers it as Tucson Kale


Do you garden? For home gardeners, Kale has a long growing period. 

The wonderful thing about kale is that it can be grown through summer and depending on your growing region, until early March, making it available for winter salads. Even in colder areas, often organic farmers and home gardeners who have hoop houses, and kale can be grown through the winter. Making salads easy to produce. One of the reasons Kale is perfect for the home gardener.

Kale is also easy to prepare, keeps well, is nutritious and the salad isn't bad either! My favorite way to be salad ready is to get a couple of bunches of kale, wash it well, remove the center rib, cut the leaves into bite-sized pieces, and store them in the refrigerator.
 

I prefer a large plastic bag with a folded-up clean cotton towel in the bottom to absorb excess moisture. You may also use a bowl with a tight-fitting lid. With the prep work completed, a salad is only moments away. Kale Salad isn't any different than your standard tossed greens, simply enjoy with your favorite dressing. The only difference is in nutrition and fiber. Both of which are good for you!

This is how I clean and store kale for tossed salads. 


Wash the kale leaves in a sink of tepid water. Lift up the leaves, let drain in your hands and return to the water. Let sit for a moment or two. then lift and drain again. Dirt particles will have settled to the bottom of the water. 


Lift from the water, drain well and lay on cotton toweling. 
 


Remove the center rib/stem. It is very tough and will ruin your salad! 

You may simply tear the leaf away from the stem or you can use a "stripping" method by holding the end of the stem with one hand, place the thumb and index finger of the other hand squeezing gently on each side and strip the leaf away from the stem. Either method works fine. 


Cut the upper portion of the leaf where the rib/stem ends, in two. Stack the leaves. If they are quite large a lengthwise cut is advised to avoid overly large pieces. Then cut crosswise into squares. 


After you have made crosswise cuts, feel free to make sure the pieces are not too large for you. We all have a preferred style of salad making and serving. If adjustments are needed, now is the time...


Place the cut kale into the storage container of your choice. We have such a small fridge, this reusable bag (I wash and reuse plastic bags until no use remains!) works best for any usable space. 

At our house, the scraps and the ribs are cut for the hens!

Let's make a salad!



To make a salad, place the amount of cut Lacinato Kale into a large bowl. 

To "knead" or "massage" the cut kale, take a handful of the kale, and squeeze it, release, move to the next section of the bowl and continue to pick up, squeeze, and release until all the kale in the bowl has been "massaged". 

Add grated carrot and some grape tomatoes and enjoy with the salad dressing of your choice. 



#wholefoodingredients

#scratchmadefoodforyourfamily


Featured recipe at: 
Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household is a featured blogger at You're A Star Linkup!
Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household is a featured blogger at You're A Star Linkup!


Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household featured at Full Plate Thursday Link-up and Blog Hop.
Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household featured at Full Plate Thursday Link-up and Blog Hop. 


Thanks for stopping by!


We offer new and delicious recipes as well as DIY ideas for your home, regularly. Feel free to drop us an email request for any question or recipe you may be looking for. In addition, like all our guests, we invite you to come for a visit again and again for new recipes, and my down-home take on frugal ways to keep your home in tip top shape. 

 
Hey you, don’t miss a post! Please consider following Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household. To follow by email, and/or by RSS feed, complete the application located on the right-hand side of the blog. Please Note, some posts may contain affiliate links, thank you for supporting Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household.
 

PS, friends, and family who love good food and household ideas might love us too! Tell them about us, and thanks for the referral! 

You may also enjoy, Creative writing from the heart... stories of life, living, and family.

Scratch Made Food! & DIY Homemade Household proudly shares with these generous link parties featured here 

UPDATED: 03.11.2024

Would you like to comment?

  1. 'Looks delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe at You're the Star Blog Hop! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like your instructions for de-ribbing. It's a step I've omitted out of laziness and it so makes a difference! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party. Hope to see you there next week!! Have a lovely week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fortunately we don't like the ribs, but the hens do! Thanks for hosting, have a great week ahead.

      Delete
  3. I really like a kale salad -- it's a pain to cut the ribs out, but still worth it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have reached the point of enjoying kale more than traditional salad greens.

      Delete
  4. I like kale but not when I make it. Interestingly I didn't know about the massaging so am wondering if that's why...?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lydia, I like this particular type of Kale for a salad, and yes the massaging is what makes it work!

      Delete

Comments always appreciated, at Scratch Made Food! Thank you for stopping by!