Have you ever been told not to play with your food? Well, here’s your opportunity. In this recipe  creamy, rich avocado becomes the dressing by “massaging” it into the kale. In addition, adding the lemon juice and a tiny bit of salt will wilt the kale, making it nice and soft. Vary the vegetables and add fresh herbs to your liking. Creamy, yummy, oh so good!

Serves 3-4

Prep time : 25 minutes Cook time: 0

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale, any variety (I like red kale for this salad) stems removed, shredded by hand into bite sized pieces

½ to ¾ cup each of red and yellow bell peppers, diced

½ to ¾ cup radishes, thinly sliced half moons

½ to ¾ cup jicama, julienned, 1 “

½ to 1 ripe avocado

1 ½ Tbsp. of lemon or lime juice, or more to taste

zest of one organic lemon

pinch of sea salt,  to taste

generous pinch of cayenne

fig balsamic (optional)

I do a “zip’n’strip” method to remove the tough stems: you hold a stalk of kale in the middle with both hands and then zip down on the stem to remove kale leaves. Tear into bite sized pieces.

Creaming the kale with your hands breaks down the fiber in the kale, making it soft and reducing  it in volume.

Directions:

• In a medium mixing bowl, add kale, lemon juice and salt.
• Slice avocado in half, remove pit and squeeze avocado over kale.
• Massage and mix with your hands to “wilt” the kale and cream the avocado, approx. 1-2 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients and combine well.
• Adjust seasonings.
• If you have time, let salad rest for about 1 hour before serving. Enjoy

Notes:

I like to sprinkle a little bit of fig balsamic over my salad.

I keep a box of latex-free gloves on hand and often don them, if I massage a salad.

If you like to make this salad fat-free, you can use Oil-free Balsamic Dressing to massage the kale with instead of avocado

Recipe adapted from: “Crazy Sexy Kitchen”, Kris Karr with Chef Chad Sarno