Caesar-Style Salad with Kale, Pecorino Cheese, and Homemade Croutons
In an effort to bring readers the latest good-for-you foods, executive editor Wendy Naugle, who oversees our health coverage, is constantly sampling vitamin-rich, vegetable-laden fare. The only problem? She’s more of a meat and potatoes kind of gal. Enter this salad. After tasting it at an event for health guru Andrew Weil’s restaurant, True Food Kitchen, in Phoenix, Wendy fell in love. She calls it a sophisticated Caesar salad and the most painless way to eat lots of kale, which is good for you in a gazillion ways. Finally, something her health editor brain and her picky palate could agree on. Wendy has passed the recipe to friends, served it to dinner guests, and made it for herself dozens of times. And it always, always satisfies.
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, mashed
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Red pepper flakes
- 4 to 6 loosely packed cups kale, preferably flat-leaf purple kale—midribs removed and leaves thinly sliced
- ⅔ cup grated Pecorino Toscano cheese (Rossellino variety if you can find it) or other flavorful grating cheese, such as Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 small loaf ciabatta or other rustic bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 cup)
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a large serving bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, 4 tablespoons olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to taste, and a generous pinch (or more, to taste) of red pepper flakes. Add the kale and toss well.
- Add two-thirds of the cheese to the serving bowl and toss again. Let the salad rest for at least an hour. Yep, an hour—the dressing softens the sturdy kale to give it a more delicate romaine-like texture.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Toss the bread in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil (or use garlic-infused olive oil, if you have it). Spread the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 7 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a plate lined with paper towels.
- After the salad has rested, add the bread cubes, toss the salad again, top with the remaining cheese, and serve.
