Often times, an especially impressive restaurant meal will inspire me to recreate something similar at home. This was the case with the kale salad at Cru, a raw food restaurant in Silverlake. Kale, which most people associate with cooked collards, often gets stuck in a rut. I've never really used it for much beyond a sauteed or braised side dish. It can be quite tough and chewy raw, so I'd never considered it for a salad. Until now.
The key to getting kale soft enough to eat raw is salt. Simply rub the leafs with a bit of salt and let sit for 30 minutes or so. This will "wilt" the leaves and soften them up a bit. For this salad, I chopped the kale into very small pieces and added corn, cherry tomatoes, red cabbage and Persian cucumbers. I made a simple dressing out of white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic and olive oil along with salt and pepper to taste. After tossing the salad with the dressing, I let it sit for another 20 minutes. This ensures that the vegetables really soak up the dressing.
Thanks to Cru for an inspired salad!
