Bobby Flay Says This One Step Is Key To The Perfect Kale Salad
Did you know that Bobby Flay and his daughter Sophie have a podcast? When you can't sit down to watch Flay cook, listening to him talk about recipes and all things food is a great way to indulge your love for cooking. In an episode of "Always Hungry," Bobby Flay and Sophie Flay discuss cookbooks (per iHeart Radio), and they start off with "The Barbuto Cookbook," written by Johnathan Waxman, a mentor to Bobby Flay. Together, Flay and his daughter whip up a kale salad from the cookbook and share tips about the best ways to cook with kale.
Flay mentions that he loves to use black kale, dinosaur kale, and Tuscan kale. He added that Tuscan kale is great for salads. But the secret to the perfect kale salad is not just the type of kale you choose. According to the celebrity chef, the trick is to tenderize your kale.
Bobby Flay tenderizes his kale for salads
Kale is a tougher and heartier leafy green than other options for salad, like spinach or arugula, so Bobby Flay recommends tenderizing and softening kale. In the podcast, listeners can hear him chop it up, and he says to "bruise" the kale.
This is fairly common practice to make sure that your kale salad isn't tough and bitter, and a recipe from Minimalist Baker specifies that it's a "massaged kale salad." Bon Appétit goes into more detail about what massaging kale means, and essentially, you can add a little salt and lemon (or vinegar!) and work the kale with your hands. Bon Appétit says not to massage the greens too much, and once the greens begin to wilt, that's the sweet spot.
While Flay doesn't go into this much detail, we imagine that he's worked the kale to get it to the right texture. After all, he's a pro. Now that you know how to make the best kale salad, there are quite a few recipes you can try. Though tenderizing your kale takes a few extra minutes, the taste will be worth it!