The first time that kale showed up in my CSA, I was petrified and had no idea what to do with the abundance of curly leafy greens sitting in my kitchen. Ever since then though, I have learned to love kale and all of its applications. While I love kale cooked in dishes like frittata and roasted kale, it’s also great raw, in a salad.

Massaged kale is a great way to eat raw kale. When you massage some kale with a bit of kosher salt, the kale begins to soften and break down pretty quickly. It only takes a few minutes to knead it to perfection.

As you may already know, I love fall veggies. The abundance of greens and gourds make me so happy. I seem to be roasting up squash weekly. The massaged kale pairs very well with the roasted butternut squash. I thought I’d share with you this fantastic salad.

I began by peeling and cubing my butternut squash. I sprinkled it with olive oil, salt, pepper, cloves of garlic and fresh herbs. I then roasted it at 400 for about 40 minutes.

While the squash roasted, I washed, trimmed and cut up the kale.

I placed the kale in a large mixing bowl and sprinkled some kosher salt over the kale. With my clean hands, I kneaded the kale well. Massaging the kale quickly brought out the water in the kale and broke it down. You will see in the before and after pictures of the kale how much it reduces as you massage it!

I dressed the kale with some chopped shallots, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, ed wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and that yummy roasted squash.

This salad is so delicious  and keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Hope you enjoy!

Kale and Butternut Squash Salad

 

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Author: Hindy Garfinkel

Recipe type: Salad

Ingredients

Roasted Butternut Squash

• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 1.5 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
• 5 cloves smashed garlic (optional)
• 1-2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground pepper

Kale Salad

• 1 bunch of kale
• kosher salt
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• additional salt and pepper to taste
• 2.5 tbsp. pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp. dried cranberries
• 1 chopped shallot

Instructions

For the Butternut Squash:

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Peel and cube the butternut squash
3. Toss the squash with olive oil and spread over a baking sheet
4. Sprinkle over the herbs, salt and pepper
5. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes, checking on the squash and flipping, every 15 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven once it's browned, but but not overdone. Cool.

For the Kale and Salad:

1. Wash and trim the kale. Cut away the tough stems.
2. Chop up the kale and place in a large mixing bowl.
3. Sprinkle some kosher salt over the kale
4. With you clean hands, knead the salt in to the kale. Knead for about 3-5 minutes. You will see the kale reduce and soften. The moisture will seep out of the kale.
5. Toss the kale with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
6. Mix in the rest of the salad ingredients, along with the butternut squash.
7. Enjoy!

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