Tuscan Kale Salad

This is a colorful, elegant salad that's a pleasure serving with love and a toast to good health, made from one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables available. One cup of this delicious salad provides 1,300% DV vitamin K, 200% DV vitamin A, 88% DV vitamin C, and many other nutrients including protein, minerals like manganese, magnesium, calcium, and copper, antioxidants like Superoxide Dismutase, sulforaphane, lutein, kaempferol, and quercetin, and other phytonutrients including at least 45 different flavonoids.

Tuscan Kale Salad

Ingredients*:

4-6 cups loosely packed, finely sliced kale leaves with center ribs removed. (I use Lacinato (dinosaur) kale. Any variety of kale can be used.)
two shredded carrots
one diced red, yellow, or purple sweet pepper. (Either raw or frozen peppers work well in this salad.)
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 tablespoon organic raw apple cider vinegar
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 small or l large clove(s) garlic, mashed
1/4 c fresh chopped parsley (or 2 t dried)
1 T fresh chopped basil (or 1 t dried)
1 T fresh chopped oregano (or 1t dried)
Celtic or Himalayan salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
2/3 cup grated Pecorino Toscano or other flavorful Italian grating cheese like asiago or parmesan

*Use as many organic ingredients as possible. Feel free to substitute your choice of herbs.

Method

"Massage" the shredded kale leaves with clean hands. This helps tenderize it and develop sulforaphane. Combine kale, shredded carrots, and diced pepper.

Whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper. For an extra kick, add a pinch (or more to taste) of hot red pepper flakes.
Pour over kale in serving bowl and toss well.
Add 2/3 of the cheese and toss again. Garnish with the rest of the cheese.

This salad should be prepared at least a few hours in advance, and keeps well for a couple of days covered in the refrigerator. Many raw fruits and veggies are difficult for me to eat due to my digestive disease. When I first tried kale, both raw and cooked, it didn't seem to be a vegetable I could tolerate. Advance preparation of this salad though, combined with lemon and raw cider vinegar, not only helps develop the sulforaphane, it also tenderizes the kale, making it easily digestible even for someone like me with a very sensitive digestive system.

Superoxide Dismutase is Expialidoshus

Redbor kale at Chicago Botanic Garden (September 2010)

Superoxide Dismutase is Expialidoshus,

Even if the sound of it is something quite atrocious.

If you say it loud enough you'll always sound precocious,

Superoxide Dismutase is Expialidoshus!

Kale is rich in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer nutrients. For example, Superoxide Dismutase (SOD,) is an important phytonutrient, an antioxidant abundantly present in kale. Kale is an all-around nutritional powerhouse; rich in calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, lutein, beta-carotene, omega-3 (ALA,) at least 45 different antioxidant flavonoids, fiber, and vitamins A, C, and K. It's a sulfur-rich vegetable, which in part accounts for its reputation as a detoxifying, medicinal superfood. Sulforaphane is formed when sulfur-rich cruciferous vegetables such as kale are chopped and chewed. Sulforaphane triggers the liver's production of detoxifying enzymes, helping the body cleanse itself of some of the dangerous environmental and ingested toxins we're exposed to in this chemical age.

We're growing kale in our garden for the first time. I didn't know much about it when it was planted, only that it looked cool, and would be one of the hardiest vegetables I'd ever grown. While this might be the first time kale has grown here, it won't be the last now that I know what a fantastic food it is. And, while most of the veggies are now toast following a killing frost last week, our kale is still beautiful and delicious. We can expect to still be harvesting it for weeks to come, even here in our zone 5 garden. In fact, like brussels sprouts, the flavor of kale improves and becomes even sweeter with the frost and typically chilly weather of November in Chicago.

There are many delicious ways to enjoy kale, either raw or cooked. It can even be a beneficial addition to a beloved pet's diet. George enjoys it immensely. He eats his kale raw, finely chopped and mixed in with his homemade, whole-foods diet. Kale is one of a variety of nutritious vegetables recommended by George's new holistic veterinarian. It's so rewarding knowing I'm growing some of the food that is nourishing him through his remarkable recovery from a number of geriatric health challenges.

Back in September, when I met up with Monica, Diane, Rose, and Beckie at Chicago Botanic Garden, we saw Redbor kale not only in the vegetable gardens, but also in ornamental plantings throughout the gardens. As you can see in the photo, it is really beautiful. For ornamental gardeners who don't have dedicated vegetable growing space, consider adding kale to your ornamental beds for its beauty, and be sure to harvest some for your kitchen for your own inner beauty and good health!