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One of my Christmas gifts from John was a vegan cooking class at Cavallo Point in Sausalito. At first I was like, “honey, a vegan cooking class?” I mean I am no vegan nor plan on being one anytime soon, but I was intrigued as I wanted to learn more about vegan cooking. The instructor, Miyoko Schinner, is an amazingly vibrant woman. She only cooks with whole and local ingredients (no processed ingredients here). She has such great energy and enthusiasm for what she does that she got the whole class excited to cook vegan. Check out her website and videos and you will see what I mean.
One of the recipes that we whipped up was this kale salad. I knew from the start I would like it, as I love kale. I had never made a raw kale salad before though. I had only used kale in smoothies or sautéed it.
This was by far my favorite recipe of the evening. The kale absorbed all the flavors of the lemon dressing and it was sweet but not too sweet. I literally could have eaten a huge plate full. I had the kids try this the other night and they ate a few bites. They liked it but did not love it. John loved it and has been requesting it for dinner ever since. If you are scared of kale or don’t think a kale salad is your thing, please just give this a try. It’s the perfect way to try kale as the dressing and the massaging of the kale breaks down the bitter taste.
This is a great salad to take to a potluck as it can be made and assembled that morning or hours before an event.
Lemon Dressing:
Serves 4 people happily
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1.5 juicy lemons)
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/8 cup agave
- 1.5 ounces tofu (I used extra firm)
Kale Salad:
Serves 4 people happily
- 1 bunch kale, roughly shredded – I used a mixture of regular kale & lacinato/dino kale
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 1/2 apple sliced and cut into bite-sized pieces
Below are the ingredients you will need for the dressing. I wanted to show a picture of the tofu and agave I used in case some of you were unfamiliar with the ingredients. BTW, I love this picture with the orange, green and yellow colors. Color makes me happy.
Zest and squeeze up your lemons and and set aside. 
The first time I made this salad I hand squeezed the lemons and it took 3 lemons to get 1/4 cup of juice. I then went out the next day and purchased this handy dandy citrus squeezer that I used at the cooking class and I only used 1.5 lemons to get my 1/4 cup juice.
This tool rocks!!!
Wash up and de-stem kale by pulling leaf away from the stem, spin or pat dry and then rip apart the leaves like your would for any salad. Toast up your almonds and set aside. If you are not sure how to toast almonds, I show you how in this post.
Below are the two types of kale I used. 
I used more of the regular kale for my first salad and added in some lacinato/dino kale as well. The regular kale resembles traditional lettuce and is not as tough or bitter as the dino kale. The next time I made this salad I used more dino kale as it’s more nutritionally packed. Feel free to use any type of kale for this salad.
Put your kale in a bowl and mix with just enough of the dressing to moisten. This next step is a bit strange but very necessary. Massage the dressing into the kale. Yes, you heard me right, “massage” the dressing into the kale. You literally want to massage the kale with 2 hands making sure to squeeze the kale as you go along, do this step for about 2 minutes. The volume of the kale should reduce by about 1/3 and the kale will wilt and have a cooked texture. Keep adding the dressing to taste as you massage it. 
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Sharyn DImmick January 17, 2012 at 3:38 pm
Jane Garrett of Mabel Dodge Luhan House taught me to make a similar salad with blanched kale: the differences are that you don’t need to massage it and the dressing takes tahini rather than tofu. It is now my favorite kale recipe. You can see it here: http://thekalechronicles.com/…/kale-conquered-the-kale-salad-i-love-and-t…
Jacquelyn January 17, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Hi Sharyn. I am going to give that kale salad a try as well. I loved this one so why not try another. It’s an easy and great way to get our kale in. Thanks for the recipe link
Pam January 17, 2012 at 4:34 pm
I love kale but usually only use it in soups. This salad looks beautiful and delicious.
andreadrugay January 17, 2012 at 7:47 pm
That looks SO good! I love kale ~ we grow it during the winter sometimes, but usually eat it 1-3 times a week even if we’re not growing it ourselves. I usually chop & sautee with olive oil, garlic, and lemon ~ rarely make salad but this I will have to try! I like the idea of tahini in place of tofu, too!
Jacquelyn January 17, 2012 at 9:31 pm
Hi Andrea! I would love to grow kale as well as some of my favorite herbs. I think this spring I will have to do some planting. I usually sauté my kale or blend it in a smoothie as well. I was always afraid of trying a salad because I thought it would be to bitter, but I really love the way it tastes with the cranberries and the lemon dressing. Kale is now replacing my normal spinach and arugula salad.
Inside a British Mum's Kitchen January 17, 2012 at 9:57 pm
this sounds wonderful!! love the ingredients – going to try this asap
mary x
Kitchen Belleicious January 17, 2012 at 10:19 pm
With all those amazing ingredients how can this salad not be INCREDIBLE!
Mary January 18, 2012 at 2:54 pm
Kale is not a favorite of mine, but your salad just might make me a convert. It looks and sounds delicious. I hope you have a great day. Blessings…Mary
Em (Wine and Butter) January 18, 2012 at 5:16 pm
Mmme – looks so yummy! Im a kale obsessive. I like it steamed with SUPER mustardy vinegarette. Im also a fan of bought kale chips… but I’ve never quite managed to make my own taste a as good. A company called Raw Live ( I believe) make one with a cashew and sundried tomato coating that Ive been trying to recreate ever since.
Your blog has made me miss sausilito!
Jacquelyn January 18, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Hi Em! Are you from the bay area? That super mustardy vinaigrette sounds very appealing, is the recipe posted on your blog? I love kale chips and make them quite often. My kids love them as well and they are a great after school snack alongside some popcorn.
Becka (The Elegant Eggplant) January 18, 2012 at 6:00 pm
This looks amazing. I LOVE kale salad.. your dressing looks so perfect with it!
Jacquelyn January 18, 2012 at 8:19 pm
Thanks Becka. I’m going to try more recipes because I am hooked on raw kale salads now!
Anonymous February 16, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Not a fan of tofu….Do you have a suggestion of what I could use in the place of it?
Stephanie
Jacquelyn February 16, 2012 at 9:54 pm
Hi Stephanie! You don’t even taste the tofu in this recipe. Honestly, it’s just a itty bit that goes into this dressing. The agave and the lemon take on the flavor in the salad and if I told you there was tofu in this recipe, you wouldn’t even know it.
I served this up to some friends that do not like tofu either and they loved this salad. You really don’t taste the bitterness of the kale either as there are so many flavors involved.
Anonymous February 17, 2012 at 4:23 pm
Thanks I will try it out! Whole foods has a great raw kale salad in their deli so I am sure I will love this! Stephanie
Miyoko Schinner March 30, 2012 at 3:47 am
Jacquelyn, saw your article in the IJ and found your blog. Glad you enjoyed my kale salad! Thanks for the plug and link to my website as well. Keep up the good work!
Yvonne Fisher December 5, 2012 at 4:09 am
Amazing salad Jackie. My whole family loved this tonight. It was a perfect complement to gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce!
jackiegrandy December 5, 2012 at 8:15 pm
Yaay girl! I’m so glad you tried the salad and that it was a hit. I love that Tucker loves kale, so cute! I’m so going to make gnocchi with tomato sauce next week, thanks for the idea. Was it homemade?
Donna Gail Broussard (@itsdonnagail) February 16, 2013 at 2:20 pm
My favorite kale dish in the world is so simple. I sautee onions in sesame oil and coconut oil until they are almost carmelized. I slice my kale into thin ribbons, stems and all, then cut it again crossways so it’s in 2 in by 1/3 inch strips. I add that into the onions and wilt the kale. Then I throw a couple tbsps. of San-J’s gluten-free thai peanut sauce. It’s so good you could eat bowls of it…and it’s so good for you, why not? Did you know onions reduce the risk of heart attack by over 70%? I put TONS of onions in this recipe, and their sweetness takes away any bitterness the kale might have.
jackiegrandy February 16, 2013 at 3:56 pm
Hi Donna! Your recipe sounds great and I just love caramelized onions. I could seriously eat a whole bowl of them and mix them with kale, oh yeah
I didn’t know that fact about onions and it makes me love them even more. Thanks for sharing your recipe. I will totally give it a try. xoxo, Jackie