Kale Caesar Salad with Herb Croutons by Caitlin
A few things make this salad so good, the unami anchovy garlic-y taste of the dressing and the deliciousness that comes from using kale as the green in this salad. If you have never had kale in a salad before, this is the recipe to start on. The addition of some really nice grated sharp Parmesan cheese and herbed croutons make this salad over-the-top delicious, but even without these extras this salad will takes a weekday meal from good to great.
Kale Caesar Salad with Herbed Croutons
From Alexandra Cooks Blog
To make the salad take:
3 cloves garlic and 3 olive oil-packed anchovy fillets and mince with a pinch of kosher salt to make a paste, slide and scrape your knife across and you mince to make it all mix together and put in a large measuring cup of bowl.
Then add 1 large egg yolk and scant 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar (I find I like a little less vinegar in this dressing). Stir together.
Then drizzle in and whisk about ¾ to 1 cup of good olive oil, it’s usually closer to a cup when I make this dressing
To make the croutons:
Take a small loaf of stale white bread and tear or chop into pieces, I usually aim for small square croutons. Toss in olive oil and herbs, I usually use about 1 tsp of rosemary and 1 tsp of marjoram. Bake at 350 degrees till nice and light brown and slightly crispy.
To put the salad together:
For a salad that will serve four, take one bunch of kale (I always use green curly leaf kale) wash and de-rib it. Remove the leaves from the tough inner rib and tear into bit size pieces.
Put washed kale, croutons and about ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese into a salad bowl and add dressing to coat, you will not need all of the dressing made in the recipe above. Let the salad sit, depending on how tough the kale is it will need to marinate for a few minutes, 5-10 minutes is usually good.