Kale, and particularly kale salads, seem to be all the rage at the moment. I’ve made and eaten quite a few of them now, and this one –inspired by a popular salad on the menu at New York’s ABC kitchen– is my favorite. Its flavor is bold and delicious, and this recipe solves a couple of problems that can hinder my enjoyment of the whole kale Caesar genre. First, it adds the bright, fresh flavors of mint and Serrano peppers to alleviate the occasional heaviness of salads made with kale leaves and traditional Caesar dressing. And it solves my other issue too –excessively firm and sometimes even rubbery texture– by removing the stiff ribs from the leaves before cutting them into thin ribbons. This step takes a few minutes, but it’s well worth the effort.
Even if you’re not fond of spicy food, please give the Serrano peppers a try. With the heat-storing ribs and seeds removed, they impart a bright, grassy flavor to the salad that the kale really needs, and with only the slightest hint of heat. (For a hotter finish, of course, you can leave in some or all of those ribs and seeds as I do.)
Recipe
Ingredients
2-3 ounce (60-90g) chunk of good chewy bread (sourdough works fine here)
2 bunches of black, “dinosaur” or Lacinato kale. (Curly green kale is too firm to eat raw.)
1 generous cup (250ml) (packed) of mint leaves
1 large (or two small) Serrano pepper(s)
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2/3 cup (160ml) mild tasting olive oil, plus 1-2 tablespoons for the croutons
1 teaspoon of chopped anchovy (about 2 fillets)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or run through a press
about 2 ounces (60g) of good Parmegiano Reggiano cheese (about 3/4 cup (175ml), lightly packed), grated finely
1 large cold egg
zest of 2 lemons –yellow part only, finely grated with a microplane grater.
juice of 1 lemon (1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons)
kosher or medium grain sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Make the croutons. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Cut the bread into a fine dice –1/2 inch (1cm) or smaller. You’re going for something between croutons and coarse breadcrumbs. Place in a mixing bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add two pinches of kosher salt and then toss again. Dump them onto a baking sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes golden brown.
2. Place the anchovy fillets in a small bowl and cover with cold water. Soak them while you prepare the rest of the salad. If you’re using anchovies packed in oil, this will remove the often funky taste of the oil. If yours are packed in salt, this will save your dressing from becoming too salty.
3. Prepare the kale. Discard any badly damaged leaves and wash the rest. Lay out the leaves out on a towel to dry and blot them with another towel, or whirl them in a salad spinner. (Kale is pretty sturdy, so you don’t need to worry about bruising the leaves.)
4. Next, remove the ribs. This is a little tedious, but it goes quickly once you get the hang of it, and the effort pays off. The ribs can be a little rubbery in the mouth, and removing them gets you only the softer leaves for your salad. Just place each leaf face down on a cutting board and draw the tip of your knife down both sides of the rib. After that, a little tug from the base takes the rib out cleanly.
5. Then pile up the leaves and chop them crosswise into about 1/2 inch (1cm) ribbons. Transfer to a large bowl. Roughly chop the mint leaves and add them to the bowl too.
6. Dice the pepper finely. If you don’t care for spicy food, first cut the pepper in half lengthwise and remove its ribs and seeds, where most of the heat lives. (I usually take out just half of the ribs and seeds since I enjoy a little heat in this salad.) Add it to the bowl of greens.
7. Make the dressing. Dry and chop the anchovies finely. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, anchovies, garlic, mustard and two pinches of salt in a mixing bowl. Add the egg, lemon zest, and lots of black pepper. Whisk to emulsify. Add the lemon juice and whisk again, then add about 2/3 of the grated cheese and whisk to combine. Taste the dressing –first on it’s own and then on a piece of kale– and adjust with lemon juice and black pepper, if necessary.
8. Pour about 3/4 of the dressing onto the greens and add your little croutons. Toss well. Taste, and add dressing and/or black pepper, if needed. Then add the rest of the cheese and toss again.
Serve soonish. Unlike most green salads, this one can rest fully dressed in the fridge or another cool place for an hour (or even two) without any wilting or sogginess due the sturdiness of the leaves.
