That’s a bold statement. But I mean it. This is the best kale salad EVER. Trust me, make this and you’ll thank me later.
I always hated salad. Still to this day I will not go near romaine, iceberg, butter lettuce, etc. I just don’t like it. However, give me more flavorful greens like spinach, arugula, or kale and I love it. I remember the first time I had a chopped kale salad and it completely changed how I felt about salad. Sounds a little crazy whenever we’re just talking about a vegetable, but it was like I suddenly didn’t hate all salad anymore. It was love at first bite. Yes, I laughed out loud as that popped into my head.
This particular recipe is a copy-cat of one of my favorite restaurants, Kayne Prime. It’s known for being the best steakhouse in Nashville (because everything on the menu is insanely good), but this kale salad is incredible.
I’ve been making it non-stop lately because it’s so easy! Seriously, it’s only six ingredients. One of my favorite things about this salad is the fact that the leftovers store well. Because kale is such a sturdy green, you can make a large batch of this salad and eat on it for days without worrying if it’s going to get soggy. There’s nothing worse than soggy salad.
Let’s get started with what you need:
- one large bunch of kale
- 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup of slivered almonds
- 1/2 cup of currants
- the juice of one whole lemon
The only real prep with this salad is de-stemming and chopping the kale. I lay the kale leaf flat on my cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut down both sides of the stem to remove it.
Once you’ve finished de-stemming your kale, it’s time to chop! It should be very fine. I do this in 2-3 batches and place the chopped kale into a large mixing bowl.
Next, pour the olive oil and juice half of the lemon over the kale. This part gets a little messy, but it’s so worth it. Take your hands and massage the kale for a couple of minutes until it’s completely combined and the kale has softened. This makes the kale not have such a tough texture when eating.
Finally, dump the parmesan cheese, slivered almonds, and currants into the bowl and mix. Juice the other half of the lemon, salt and pepper to taste, mix one more time, and SERVE.
Bon Appétit!
xo, Nicole