Simple Kale Salad (with creamy tahini dressing)

If you are anything like I used to be, the thought of eating raw kale in a salad might be completely intimidating to you. I have always loved my greens but for some reason I took years to wrap my head around eating raw kale... until I came up with this recipe. This recipe is so simple and quick that it has become a week-night favourite in my home and I often make it on a Sunday as part of my weekly meal prep as it keeps brilliantly in the fridge for about 4-5 days. The trick to making a good kale salad is to massage the kale in order to tenderize it or else it is quite tough and course. This kale salad recipe is a perfect way to learn how to tenderize kale in a few minutes plus it has loads of fibre, Vitamin K and highly absorbable calcium so eat up.

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For my patients on calorie-controlled meal plans:

1 x 140g serving of this recipes =

·       2 fat servings
·       3 veg servings

It all starts with...

Ingredients:

  • 180g destemmed kale, finely shredded
  • 4 celery sticks, sliced diagonally
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 red apples, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup mixed toasted seeds of choice

For the dressing

  •  ½ cup tahina paste

  • Juice of 2 small lemons

  • ¾ cup filtered water

  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1/8 cup nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Method:

1.     Finely shred your kale and place in a large mixing bowl.

2.     In a separate bowl mix the tahina paste with the lemon juice until a thick paste is formed. Then slowly pour in the water whilst stirring the lemon juice/ tahina mixture with a fork or whisk. This will prevent the tahina from becoming clumpy and separating from the liquid. Then add your remaining dressing ingredients into the bowl and stir through. You should be left with a smooth creamy dressing. 

3.     Pour the dressing over the kale. Use just enough dressing to coat the kale (you may not need the whole recipe) and then massage the dressing into the kale by squeezing the kale leaves with your hands until tender. This should only take about 2 minutes.

4.    Finally, top the kale with your remaining dressing ingredients and serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Mark SebbaComment