Posted on June 12, 2018 by Emily Forbes
I’ve never been hipster or hippy enough (some would argue this) to be into kale. Sometimes I can eat it cooked. And I have hidden it in smoothies but I have just discovered a new way of eating it. I’ve been reading a lot about wilting or tenderising the kale before eating it; I thought I’d give it a go and see what the fuss is all about. This is actually a combination of 2 recipes, they can make nice individual sides. I had it with spinach and pine nut falafel (bought, but I’m going to try and recreate them) and homemade hummus.
Kale is low calorie, high in fibre and a great source of vitamin A (beta-carotene), vitamin C and K. But it can be tough to chew if not prepared properly. The idea of tenderising it is to help break down the cell walls making it much softer and easier to chew and digest. Lentils are also a great vegetarian protein source, high in fibre, folate and iron.
Kale:
- Mix together 1Tbs olive oil, half a lime, 1 tsp tahini and 1 tsp of tamari.
- Pour the dressing over half a bag of kale and massage in so that all the leaves are covered. This is best done a few hours or the night before to allow the dressing plenty of time to wilt and soften the leaves and absorb the flavours.
- Add 100g pomegranate seeds and a couple of Tbs pumpkin seeds.
- Shake together and serve
Lentils:
- So I totally cheated here and used Gourmet Merchant puy lentils. They are just too good, I’m not sure mine would ever turn out the same.
- Mix 2 Tbs olive oil, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar, 1-2tsp maple syrup and 2tsp Dijon mustard together.
- Shake together and serve with kale salad and any extras (chicken/tofu/falafel/roast butternut/avocado)
Vegan, healthy, quick and delicious. Easily prepared for lunch or tea. Check out one of my other vegan blogs which again used puy lentils.