I’m in a restaurant and I see Kale Caesar Salad. Down the street, a sign on the sidewalk in front of a smoothie establishment lists all their kale beverages. All ten of them.
I have the sense of a kale invasion. I went to google, searched and found this:
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-22984/the-strange-mystery-of-who-made-kale-famous-and-why.html
The American Kale Association hired this marketing firm in 2013 to make kale cool. They are very successful. Kale has been grown by mankind for 2000 years and who the heck ever heard of it before? This is all like an episode of Mad Men ala 21st Century.
I will admit, it took me a few times to get used to kale. It has that spirited bite. It does not feel in your mouth the way some soft buttery lettuce does. But, over time, I have come to really enjoy deep green kale.
At the forefront of the kale campaign was the cookbook Let Them East Kale! by Julia Mueller. I posted a review in 2014 and I use the book regularly. I’m not a big kale smoothie person, no matter what the signs on street urge, but I love kale in salads.
Here’s a slaw that uses that zesty kale flavor. Julie has an interesting option for you: substitute beets for the cabbage and orange juice for the lime. Or, you can experiment and, hey, do both for a brilliantly colorful dish.
Zesty Kale Slaw
Yield: serves 6-8
Ingredients:
- 1 small head red cabbage (about 7 cups thinly sliced)
- 1 large carrot
- 1 head dino kale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Zest of 1 lime
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Preparation:
Cut a red cabbage in half, remove and discard the and thinly slice both halves.
Peel a carrot and chop it into thin, small matchsticks.
Remove the leaves of ditto kale from the stems (saving the stems for cooking or smoothies) and thinly slice the leaves.
Using the fine side of a box grater, finely grate the fresh peeled ginger.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, grated ginger, garlic, and salt. Add the vegetables to a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing on top.
Mix well until everything is coated in the dressing.
Serve on barbecue or deli sandwiches, on tacos, or as a side dish!
Source: Let Them Eat Kale! By Julia Mueller [Skyhorse 2015]