Kale Turns Tender To The Touch When Massaged With This Creamy Fruit

Kale is as divisive a salad green as you can get, but there is one fruit that can turn it into a crowd pleaser. A lot of what makes kale tough for some people is also what makes it great. As a high-fiber green it is very healthy, but that also lends the green a fibrous, tough texture that lacks the satisfying crunch people like in a salad. Kale is also rich in glucosinolates, which include lots of healthy things like amino acids, but leave it bitter and pungent. You may have heard that you can massage kale salad with things like olive oil or vinegar to help address both those problems, and that is absolutely true, but if you want truly tender kale your best bet is creamy avocado.

Avocado does double duty for kale, helping to break it down when massaged and acting as the base of a makeshift dressing. Avocado's creamy fat is the key to tendering the kale, as it adds moisture to help soften the tough green and break down the fibers as you rub it into the leaves. The rich, mild flavor of avocado is also a great balancing element to mitigate kale's bitterness. Better yet, avocado itself is also a great pairing with other tenderizing and bitterness countering acidic ingredients like lemon juice and vinegar, which can be added as you massage. It is such a perfect match it almost feels like kale and avocado were destined to be together.

You do not even need to bother making a dressing outside of your mixing bowl if you are rubbing kale with avocado. Just drop chunks of avocado into a bowl with kale leaves that have been cut into bite sized pieces, and start mashing and rubbing them together with your hands to break both down. An acidic ingredient can also help to speed up this process. You will be able to feel the kale tenderizing in your hands, and in just a few minutes you will have a nice layer of evenly distributed avocado covering every nook of your greens. Just be warned that you can over-massage kale too, so once you feel it getting tender don't keep pushing it thinking it will get better and better.

Some kale massaged with avocado, lemon, and salt will be delicious all by itself, but this is also a great start to plenty of other tasty salads. Adding red onions, corn, and beans will turn it into an easy and satisfying Mexican kale salad, or you can go in a more Mediterranean direction with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and feta cheese. But do not feel the need to do too much more work. Avocado-massaged kale by itself is one the best sides for some pan-seared salmon, chicken breast, or even some roasted squash. It is good enough that even for kale skeptics it might become a go-to weeknight side.