Massaged Kale Super Salad with Turmeric Chicken

This is such a popular recipe with my clients – it’s brilliantly simple, packed with gut friendly goodness and a great way to get in more hormone balancing greens. If you don’t think you like kale, hopefully you will after this!

Massaged Kale Super Salad with Turmeric Chicken

The reason I love this recipe is because it’s so tasty and so simple. Massaging kale requires no cooking, just a little bit of scrunching and it’s ready to go! You can top with my turmeric chicken, or add your own protein topping like curried lentils or chickpeas, spicy tofu or a piece of fish.

I love adding turmeric to as many different dishes as I can, because it’s such a superfood… great for supporting liver detoxification, good for the gut microbiome and balancing inflammation. I add half a teaspoon to scrambled eggs, a teaspoon to soups and even a pinch in my smoothies! I recommend you always buy organic turmeric where possible, to reduce your intake of pesticides and to support the fair trade of those growing it. You can buy fresh turmeric root, which is more fragrant, or use powdered turmeric.

Ingredients (serves 2)

For the salad:

2 large handfuls of washed, organic kale
1 small courgette
2 garlic cloves
6 olives
2 anchovies
Sea salt/Himalayan crystal salt
Black pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lemon
Small handful cherry tomatoes plus some shavings of parmesan

For the chicken:

2 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon turmeric (ground or freshly grated)
Salt and pepper
Good squeeze of lemon juice and some large pieces of lemon rind (left over from above)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dried oregano – about half teaspoon
2 tablespoons of plain, natural yoghurt (optional)

Method:

Butterfly the chicken (slice the breast in half through the centre to make it thinner, or slice into thinner strips).
In a bowl mix the rest of the chicken ingredients together. Add in the chicken breast and leave to marinade.
Put your kale on a clean chopping board and remove the thick middle strips. Discard these, or keep for a soup or stew.
Chop the kale roughly.
Take a potato peeler and finely slice the courgette into ribbons. Add to the kale.
Finely grate over the garlic cloves, roughly chop the anchovies and olives and throw in.
Add the olive oil, seasoning and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Chop it all through, then put down your knife and start to massage your kale. Do this for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the kale is glossy and has reduced in volume by about 50%.
Check the seasoning – add more salt or pepper as needed, or extra lemon juice.
Chop the tomatoes in half, and mix in. Sprinkle over a few parmesan shavings if you’re using them.
Heat a teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil in a saucepan on a medium heat. Sautee your chicken for about 8 to 10 minutes until cooked through (you can test by cutting a piece of chicken in half and chicken inside).
Serve your chicken on your massaged kale and enjoy!