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/

Kale

Here is what was in our share this week.

Below I am including the kale section from my "Breaking Down Your Share" handout that will be available next week. The two varieties of kale this week are Beira (originates from Portugal and is similar to collard greens) and Toscano (dark leaf and more tender than typical curly green kale (my personal favorite!)).

Farmer Justin adds new vegetables or variety of vegetables every season so if there is something in today's share (or any future share) that you have a favorite recipe for, send it to me. I will forward it on to the rest of the CSA members so we can learn from each other.

Enjoy your greens this week!

Happy eating,
Kara

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Kale is the one vegetable that most people struggle with when they first join a CSA. It is not part of most of our pre-CSA diets (unless you were a green smoothie junkie) but yet it is hearty and easy to grow. Most members learn to love it though, and as my farmers can attest to, I have even been known to request more.

When you have too much to eat in a week, blanch and freeze the extra for winter soups and pastas. You can use frozen kale in any recipe that calls for frozen spinach. Just thaw, squeeze out extra moisture, and chop. Add it to your stir fry, tomato sauce, or scrambled eggs. You get the picture; kale is so versital.

The following are a few of my favorite uses for kale. I have used both fresh and frozen kale in all of them except the kale chips.

Baked Kale Chips

kale1 TBS olive oil sea salt to coat

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil. Carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Toss kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Zuppa Toscana

1 lb Italian sausage (I have omitted this for a vegetarian version)2 lg potatoes (I use about 5-6 sm/med size),cubed
1 lg onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups kale or swiss chard, chopped
2 cans chicken broth
1 qt water
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I use less to keep for a healthier version)

You could also add 1/3 cup of chopped, cooked bacon.

Cook and crumble sausage. Drain on paper towel. In a soup pot, lightly sauté onions and garlic, add potatoes, chicken broth and water. Cook on med heat until the potatoes are done. Add sausage (and bacon if using). Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer another 10 minutes Turn on low and add kale and cream. Heat through.

Fried Potatoes with Kale

4 large potatoes and 8-10 stems of kale
butter and olive oil
season salt

(I am partial to Marie Catrib’s seasoning that you can buy at the restaurant)

Cube potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat a couple of tablespoons each
of butter and olive oil in a skillet. Add potatoes and a few
tablespoons of season salt and stir. Cover. Stir occasionally. Finely
chop kale and just before the potatoes are done, add kale to pan stir
and let sauté for a few minutes. It is done with the potatoes are
soft with some crispy edges. Serve hot.

Getting ready for the 2013 CSA season!

Things are starting to sprout at the farm and our first 2013 CSA email just went out.
It is beginning once again!

a healthy crop of onions: