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In defense of the oft-maligned kale salad

Kale is everywhere these days.

People are juicing it, adding it to smoothies and throwing it on pizza. And why not? Kale is packed with nutrients - the greenest of the greens we all need more of in our diets.

Of course, the easiest way to get more of that green goodness is a salad. And yet, some people resist.

The Daily Herald's own Food editor Susan Stark recently wrote in a column how she likes any kind of salad greens - except kale.

I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion, but when I read that line, I knew I had to mount a defense of the kale salad.

To say that I love a good kale salad is an understatement. The chopped kale salad is my go-to recipe. I make it several nights a week, and then - here's the kicker - I eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.

That's right, leftover tossed salad that isn't wilted and slimy. What's the secret? Kale! And not the baby kale you buy in a clamshell. The hearty, deepest green, curly kale you buy on the stalk.

With what other green can you toss your salad in delicious dressing one day and eat leftovers the next? (I've even eaten leftovers of this salad two days later, though that's about the limit.)

Have you ever tried to eat a dressed spinach salad the next day? No, thank you. This is what makes kale so great in a salad. Those hearty curls grab the dressing. They soak it up, but not too much. The kale salad is the busy person's friend - packed with vitamins and delicious the next day.

My go-to recipe is simple and uses veggies I always have on hand. Feel free to substitute in your own favorites.

I start with about three to five cups of kale, removed from the stalk, washed and chopped coarsely. The sweet spot here is not so big that you can't fit the kale in your mouth, but not so small that you spend the entire meal chasing tiny pieces around the plate with your fork. You can also use the kale sold in bags meant for juicing, but sometimes there's quite a bit of stalk remaining, and the pieces can be super small.

Then, I add zucchini noodles (known as zoodles in my house) from one spiralized zucchini, coarsely chopped just to avoid long strands. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can skip this ingredient, though I find the zoodles add a nice texture and crunch.

Next, I throw in chopped carrots, red bell pepper and halved cherry tomatoes - probably about a half-cup of each, though this isn't the sort of thing I measure. I just use what I have and try to keep the proportions correct so the salad isn't all kale, or all fixings.

For crunch I add a handful of sunflower seeds, about two tablespoons. And if I have any leftover quinoa, I add a half-cup for texture and to help soak up that dressing. I also chop up two tablespoons of fresh cilantro.

  This chopped salad uses curly kale as the base, topped with zucchini noodles, red bell pepper, carrots, cherry tomatoes, sunflower seeds, cilantro and feta cheese, tossed in a vinaigrette. Deb Finken/dfinken@dailyherald.com

The last ingredient is 4 ounces of feta cheese crumbles. The feta works with the dressing to add a sort of creaminess when tossed, though you can omit it if you avoid dairy.

Last, I toss the salad in my favorite vinaigrette. I use an Italian recipe I've adapted from the side of the Pampered Chef carafe, but any vinaigrette or bottled Italian dressing would be fine.

The tossing is really the important part here. You need to get all of the kale coated with dressing, and all of the fixings mixed in, but do it with a light hand. You don't want a pool of dressing in the bottom of the bowl, or else tomorrow's lunch will be a bit soggy.

I serve this salad as a side or on its own. It's also great with leftover cold chicken on top. I make an extra large version of this recipe for parties - remember parties? - and I always leave with an empty bowl and a few kale salad converts.

Deb Finken is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor who REALLY likes kale.

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