Asian Kale Salad with Salmon

One of the few salads I get really excited about.

I used to be kind of neutral about kale, and I certainly wouldn't eat it raw. Then I read about a massaged kale salad and it looked like fun so I tried it. Now I like kale.

With a little bit of salad dressing and clean hands, you literally just massage the kale until it wilts into a cooked-type texture. It's immensely satisfying. 

Tip: Massage your kale in a LARGE bowl to avoid flinging it all over the counter.

As far as the salmon goes, sometimes I marinate it in the dressing and then pan-fry it. But the easiest and least messy way, I think, is to bake it in a foil packet with some dressing and then just flake it onto the salad. This also eliminates any need to buy or cut filets in any particular size for each person. I just get one big piece, cook it, and distribute the flaked salmon when serving.

Foil packet, pre-sealing.

I use this recipe. The flavors in the dressing are perfect. My only change, besides the salmon cooking method, was to increase the amount of ginger. Because that's something I do.

The Recipe:

1/2 lb salmon filet

1 bunch kale

1 green onion, chopped

1 cucumber, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 orange, segmented

2 tb almonds, chopped

3 tb rice wine vinegar

1/2 orange, juiced

1 tb lime juice

1 tb soy sauce

2 tb honey

1 tb ginger, grated

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper

• To make the dressing, blend the vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger, sesame oil, garlic, and salt and pepper (to taste).
• Wrap the salmon in foil with 1 tb of the dressing. Place the foil packet in a baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.
• Remove the toughest parts of the kale and slice the leaves into thin shreds.
• Place the kale in a large bowl with 1 tb of the dressing and massage the dressed kale for about a minute until the leaves break down and soften into a cooked consistency.
• Assemble the vegetables and almonds on the kale and drizzle on more dressing as desired.
• Flake the cooked salmon on top of the salad and serve.

The Verdict:

Overall grade: A

Overall reason: Well-balanced flavors, and super healthy

Time to prepare: 35 minutes

Husband quote: "I like the crunchy nuts!"