Kale Caesar Salad

Trillium Haven's restaurant creates one of the best caesar salads I have ever tried and they do so with kale! So when my favorite food blogger posted her variation, I had to try it.


I followed her recipe exactly and it calls for massaging the kale. I don't think I will do that next time as our farm kale is usually so tender. Maybe this is necessary for grocery store kale.

Creating an anchovy paste was a bit cumbersome. When I searched for easier ways to do so, I discovered that you can purchase anchovy paste already made (you all probably knew this but we are not big fans of anchovy over here). I think I will go with the paste next time which will probably create a smoother dressing.

This is an excellent salad. It is a bit more time consuming than I am used to (I usually throw some feta, leftover steamed or raw veggies, and some dressing that I make in large batches into the farm greens and toss) but it was a close second to Trillium's salad.

Happy eating,
Kara
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Kale Caesar Salad

Yield: 2 full size or 4 side servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
3-4 anchovy fillets
2½ tbsp. mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 oz. Parmesan cheese, finely grated

For the salad:
1 bunch curly kale, about 8-12 oz.
1 tbsp. olive oil
 croutons
Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Directions

• To make the dressing, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and garlic in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.  Blot any excess oil from the anchovies, then smash repeatedly with the tines of a fork until a paste has formed.  Add to the olive oil-lemon juice mixture.  Add in the mayonnaise and whisk briskly until a smooth emulsion has formed.  Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.  Stir in the grated Parmesan.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.
• Rinse and towel dry the kale leaves.  Remove and discard the ribs from the leaves, and tear the curly green portions into bite size pieces.  Add the kale to a large salad bowl with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and toss briefly.  Massage the kale leaves for a few minutes until the leaves have become shiny and a deeper green color, about 2-3 minutes.  Add croutons to the salad as desired.  Drizzle about half of the dressing over the salad and toss lightly to coat.  Taste and add additional dressing as necessary, a little bit at a time.  Top with additional grated Parmesan and serve.

from Annie's Eats
www.annies-eats.com/2013/04/29/massaged-kale-caesar-salad/