I wanted to make the tastiest meal for my girls night dinner party last week while still sneaking some riboflavin into the feast.  I think we all agree ceasar salad is not exactly the healthiest salad you can put in your trap but it is just so good.  This makeshift Kale Caesar Salad recipe fit all my tasty requirements while still bringing some wellness to the party.  More details on said dinner party coming soon but my friends are going to kill me if I don’t post this recipe soon so (cough Rachel)…soo….

Kale Caesar Salad with Whole Wheat Croutons:

You’ll need:

For the Crouts:

Whole Wheat Bread (I used the mini baguette at Whole Foods)

Olive oil

Garlic (couple cloves)

Dressing:

2 anchovy fillets (suck it up)

2 egg yolks

2-3 garlic cloves

2 lemons, juiced

0.5 cup olive oil

1/3 cup grated parmesan

Salt/Pep

Salad:

Kale

Parm/pecorino

Lemon

Olive oil

For the crouts:

Cube up your bread (better if a day old but I know planning is hard).  Toss with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and a couple cloves of chopped garlic (a couple in my mind is four).  Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degree tossing occasionally.

For the dressing:

Put the anchovies, yolks, garlic and juice in a food processor and combine.  I had to use the little bowl on my food processor to get those anchovies good and pulverized but you could use a blender or anchovy paste if you’re a wus (they become easier to chop up when you add the oil).  With the blender running pour the olive oil in DROP BY DROP.  I’m serious….  a drop at a time….. once you are half way through adding the dressing you can pick up your speed  A LITTLE but that is all.  Stir in the parm, salt/pep and taste it.  See if it needs more parm or seasoning.

Messy job

Salad:

You’ll need a lot of kale.  I’m not exactly sure how much I used but look at the pics.  I want to say I used 3 of the small bundles from Whole Foods.  You need to remove the center ribs and then slice up your greens.  Take about half or maybe even two thirds of your kale and toss with the dressing.  Toss the remaining kale with olive oil/lemon/salt/pep (or just toss all the kale with the dressing and add lemon and olive oil as needed).  This lightens up the salad otherwise you will feel like you are eating coleslaw or something.  Combine your kale piles and toss with  A LOT of cheese.  At this point I was out of parm so I went with pecorino romano.  Toss with the croutons and be in awe of how good you can make kale taste.