If you think you “don’t like kale” – I’m here to change your mind!

I recently went up to the allotment and during the usual tidying and preparing for the season, I noticed my kale plants were looking pretty good for the time of year.

So naturally I brought home armfuls of the stuff. Then the obvious question – what the hell am I going to do with all this?

Salad might not seem the obvious choice but stick with me and you won’t regret it.

KALE SALAD:

Obviously the first step you want to do is wash those leaves. If your leaves have gone a bit limp, leave them in water for a little while and they’ll crisp right back up.

The next step is to remove the tough stems. Just run a knife along each side of the stem so you are left with the lovely leaves.

Now make like a pro chef, big knife at the ready and start doing the chop. You know the one, just letting the knife do all the work.

When you think you’re done, do a little more. Put it in a bowl with a sprinkle of salt and lemon juice and massage that kale – you will see it shrink as the juice is drawn out of it.

Now leave it to sit for a little while so you can get chopping a whole lotta salad lovelies. Pick what you like, this is a recipe not a prescription! Typically, I go for celery, spring onion, pepper and cucumber. You can add chilli, olives, tomato – whatever you like!

Give them the same chef choppy action.

Put everything together in one big happy bowl.

Add a dash of olive oil, some pepper, maybe even a sprinkling of seeds and a whole lotta love.

Now enjoy!