When Dressing Kale Salads, Remember One Crucial Tip

Kale is a versatile green leafy vegetable with a hearty texture that works well sauteed as a side dish, wilted into a Tuscan white bean soup, and even crisped up into chips in an oven or air fryer. As a raw salad ingredient, kale is a nutritious and delicious lettuce alternative. However, its coarse, curly texture when raw could use some tenderizing if you'd rather not spend hours chewing. Therefore, the crucial tip to remember when dressing kale salads is to use a highly acidic salad dressing.

Acid is a natural tenderizer and a popular ingredient in marinades, because it breaks down the tough fibers in meat while also brightening flavor. The same applies to kale; whether you're using apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, the acid will soften its tough, chewy leaves into a more palatable, soft texture while also balancing their bitterness with a pleasant tang. While some opt for massaging oil and salt into kale leaves to tenderize them, an acidic salad dressing will save you the trouble. The oil in your dressing will help coat each leaf and provide a channel for acid absorption. So, all you have to do is toss the kale in an acidic dressing between 15 and 30 minutes before serving. Let it rest in the fridge or at room temperature while you prepare the rest of your salad ingredients.

Whether oil, mayo, or dairy-based, salad dressings are defined as a mixture of one or more of these fats with acid, so most salad dressings you have in mind will fit the bill. A vinaigrette, with plenty of vinegar or a mixture of vinegar and citrus juice may be the most acidic choice. A vinaigrette with lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and dijon mustard would be equal parts tangy, sweet, and aromatic. We use a lemon juice and dijon vinaigrette with pomegranate molasses for our hearty kale, chickpea, and dukkah salad recipe. Another citrus-centric option is a ginger-lime dressing, which we use on this kale and corn salad.

Even a creamy salad dressing like this buttermilk ranch or blue cheese would provide the acidity needed to tenderize kale, as long as you dress it a little ahead of time. You can always dress the kale lightly to soften, adding more salad dressing when you toss in the rest of the ingredients. This salad dressing hack will also soften the texture and alter the flavor of other robust ingredients. For example, if you toss a vinaigrette into kale leaves, red onions, and carrots, the result will be tender kale, plus onions and carrots with a sweeter pickled flavor. Even tenderized kale is a chewy, hearty salad foundation, so be sure to tear the green vegetable into small shreds for the ideal mouthful. Creamy mix-ins like feta and avocado, and crunchy toppings like nuts, roasted chickpeas, and sesame sticks (like these salted Yupik ones) will create a balanced textural contrast.