Massaged Kale Salad
One of the shows that I enjoy watching is Next Food Network Star. I thought they sent Brad home too early, and I was really starting to like Tom towards the end. I wasn’t surprised when Aarti won because I had seen it on Food Network Humor that FoodNetwork.com had leaked the winner. I decided to watch Aarti’s first episode to see how it went. When I saw her make this massaged kale salad, I was intrigued. And, since kale is something I’ve never made at home, this recipe would help me get something done off my 30 by 30 list.
I’m sure I’ve had kale in entrees when eating out, but like I said, I have definitely never bought it or done anything with it at home. I grabbed a big bunch at the farmers market and gave this recipe a shot. Hubby said that his mom used to make kale when he was young and he never liked it, so he was a bit apprehensive about trying this salad.
I’m sure you’re wondering how it was? It was delicious! Hubby said it was the best kale he’d ever had. The kale had a great flavor. It reminded me of a really hearty spinach flavor. The lemony vinagrette and the mango chunks provide a great brightness and sweetness to the salad.
AND, the best thing about this salad is that it keeps in the fridge! We had it the first night as a side dish with some Peppery Lemon Brown Sugar Salmon and the next day we both had some in our lunches. It didn’t get super soggy like a dressed lettuce salad would.
Massaged Kale Salad
Yield: 4-6
Ingredients:
1 bunch kale, stalks removed and discarded, leaves thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 mango, diced small
Small handful toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
Directions:
In large serving bowl, add the kale, half of lemon juice, a drizzle of oil and a little kosher salt. Massage until the kale starts to soften and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk remaining lemon juice with the honey and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Stream in the 1/4 cup of oil while whisking until a dressing forms, and you like how it tastes.
Pour the dressing over the kale, and add the mango and pepitas. Toss and serve.
Recipe from Aarti Sequeira
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
ooh, i am drooling thinking about this over melty brie!! fabulous 🙂
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:08 pm
It’s definitely as good as it sounds.
what a lovely jam! there are still some peaches at the market and i need to make this asap.
Sounds wonderful! When do you add the liquid pectin and how long do you let it boil after you add it?
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:14 pm
Sorry about the mistake in the recipe, I have updated the recipe to reflect when to add the pectin.
That sounds delicious, but when do we add the pectin, and can we use powdered pectin instead of the liquid one? Thank you so much…
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:15 pm
Sorry about the mistake in the recipe, I have updated the recipe to reflect when to add the pectin.
I’m still new to canning, but I read in the Ball book that you can’t swap different kinds of pectin and should only use what the recipe calls for…
when do you add the pectin ??????
beantownbaker — September 25th, 2013 @ 4:15 pm
Sorry about the mistake in the recipe, I have updated the recipe to reflect when to add the pectin.
How long does this keep?
beantownbaker — September 28th, 2013 @ 8:36 pm
If you process the jars in a water bath, they will be fine on a shelf for up to a year. Once opened, you want to refrigerate it and it will keep for about a month in the fridge.
The number of cups of chopped peaches would be very helpful. Also, are the pectin pouches 3 or 6 oz?
The flavor was outstanding! However, it never fully set-up into a jelly. It was more of a jam/thick sauce – even after re-processing with a 2nd pack of pectin (I gave in and used the powder) On my other batches, I used 2 dry packs – and I’m not sure if those will even set correctly. 🙁
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:22 pm
Sorry to hear this didn’t set up for you…
With sealed jars what is the shelf life of something like this?
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:22 pm
In general, I would try to open them within 6 months. I have kept jars of jam for up to a year without any problems.
This is my second year making this and i just wanted to tell you that it is outstanding. i’m sure others are wondering about yield — I got 9 half-pints from one batch. How long do you process this? I did 15 mins to err on the side of caution. Thanks!!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:26 pm
I always process for 10 minutes.
Does this make the five half-pint jars shown or does it make more? Since everything sort of comes together at the end in canning (hot jam, sterilized jars, etc., and boiling water) I like to know ahead of time how many jars to prepare. Thanks.
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:28 pm
It made 6 jars for me. It will depend how big your peaches are too.
With my jams, I usually use real lemon juice, but not in such large quantity,Did you use fresh or “jarred” lemon juice?
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:29 pm
Yes, I use jarred lemon juice here.
According to “foodinjars.com” you can substitute 2 TBSP powdered pectin for 1 pouch of liquid pectin. 🙂 just thought I’d share that little tidbit! This recipe is FANTASTIC! Thanks Jen!
http://foodinjars.com/2013/07/canning-101-how-to-substitute-pectin/
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:30 pm
Thanks for sharing this!
I am looking forward to making this jam this evening!! I was seaching for a recipe for peach and jalapeno jam and this one caught my eye! Because you posted it my the day I was married, then reading your story and that you live in Cincy! I was born and raised north of that area!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:31 pm
Small world! I hope you enjoyed this jam.
This recipe should come with a warning label. I feel like I just made crack. I changed it up a bit and used cherries instead of peaches. I was having a hard time finding a cherry pepper recipe and had cherries in my freezer needing evicted and this one looked so good I used it as my baseline. THANK YOU for sharing it! If you are interested, it was a mix of sweet and tart cherries, and I added an extra jalapeno to a double batch. I just got done putting up nearly 11 pints of the stuff and am sitting here like a child licking the residue off my ladle it is that freaking good. Definitely recommend you try it with cherries some day if you like them. I am picking peaches this weekend and will definitely be making this as posted because I am sure it is divine. Ive been making jams and jellies since i was a child and this is the best one yet. Thank you again, can’t wait to try it properly with peaches!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:32 pm
Cherries! What a great change. I’m goign to have to try that out.
It would have been nice to know how many jars I would need to make this recipe!!!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:33 pm
I got 6 jars. I’ll update the recipe to reflect the yield.
Oooooh. I am making this this weekend – thanks for a fantastic-looking recipe!
First time jam maker. Went to the farmer’s market this weekend and bought peaches and jalapenos (along with a bunch of other stuff). Thought I’d try my hand at making a jam/jelly because we love it on pork chops. This recipe was perfect. Thanks for sharing… and thank you to Google for popping it towards the top of the search list. Thank you Beantown Baker!
How long do you need to water bath can it??
Made this today – delicious but decidedly soupy. I thought maybe once it cooled it would set up more, but no.