Kale salad with miso-lemon dressing
Most people who really know me will remember that for years I’ve hated kale. I’ve definitely called it “an overrated vegetable” more times than I can count, and I stand by that assessment. But then my friend Maya brought a salad to my house that was more or less this one, and I started sometimes eating a vegan cesar salad from Harmony Bakery that was surprisingly good but not like, $5 worth of good, and so it happened that after years of hating on it I voluntarily bought kale. (When it’s come in my veggie box I’ve typically made it into chips out of spite. Mmmmmm salty spite chips.)
The recipe is simple – still more so if you find a cheap bag of pre-washed/pre-chopped kale. Let your personal ethics around plastic bag disposal be your guide there.
In a small but not overly small bowl mix:
1 heaped tablespoon of miso paste (so like, 2 tbsp?)
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp olive or avocado or walnut or whatever aromatic room temp salad oil you like
2 tbsp of lemon juice (I use the gross bottled kind for this not gonna lie)
1 tbsp apple cider or rice vinegar
Cayenne and/or ground red pepper flakes and/or black pepper to taste
Maybe some garlic powder. Maybe some sesame seeds. Maybe some ______.
Put your kale into a large bowl or your biggest tupperware for easy storage. Mix up the dressing well, then pour it over kale, stirring and mixing and massaging it in well. Dressing should cover 6-8 cups chopped kale. Best eaten after sitting for at least an hour or two, if not a full day.
