I don’t often post salads, so when I do you know it’s good! I got a sneak peak of some recipes of dishes that will be at Taste of Toronto this week, and this one stood out. I tweaked it just a bit to better suit the home cook. It is a great, garlicky Caesar salad with a twist that will make you want seconds. Hope you enjoy!

Kale Salad

Ingredients

• day old whole wheat bread, cut into 2-3″ pieces (I used a small baguette)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic + 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1 anchovy fillet, crushed/flaked
• 1¼ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon whole egg
• ⅛ cup red wine vinegar
• ½ cup canola oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 large bunch kale
• ¼ cup grated pecorino or parmesan
• zest from half a lemon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350^oF and spread bread on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 10-15 minutes, until bread starts to colour. Remove from oven and rub with 1-2 cloves of garlic. Reduce heat to 200^oF and bake for another 25-30 minutes, ensuring bread doesn’t get too dark or burn. Remove from oven and crush into croutons with a mortar and pestle (or with a heavy utensil in a small bowl, I used a heavy ice cream scoop).

In a small bowl, mix crushed garlic, anchovy, mustard, egg and red wine vinegar well. While whisking, slowly pour in canola oil. Add in salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove stems from kale and roughly chop into pieces approx. 1″ apart. Place chopped kale into a large bowl, pour ⅔ of dressing and all of toasted bread. Toss salad and taste, add more dressing if you’d like. Transfer salad into serving bowl, sprinkle cheese on top and lemon zest. Serve and enjoy!

Source: Montetico