When it comes to caesar salad, I tend to take a pass. All too often, it’s just a mediocre plate of limp romaine, nondescript and flavorless creamy white dressing, some cardboard-like parmesan bits, and soulless, cracker-y croutons. Not great.
When we take it upon ourselves to make caesar salad at home, there’s lots of indecision around the dressing recipe, and we inevitably go hunting for a random concoction online that does the job, but isn’t much of a showstopper.
So, I’ve taken matters into my own hands to create our family’s on-the-record caesar salad dressing. It’s got plenty of delicious briny anchovies, dijon, worcestershire sauce, and lots of lemon juice to make the flavors stand out.
We also use extra virgin olive oil, which many will replace with a small amount of olive oil and a neutral vegetable oil, but I much prefer the rich, fruity flavor of an extra-virgin caesar salad dressing. Snobby? Maybe. Tastyyy? Yes.
Tuscan Kale in Caesar Salad
The final touch to this salad? The addition of Tuscan kale and jumbo-sized olive ciabatta croutons for that extra rustic flair.
Our local grocery store sold green olive ciabatta, which is a silly abomination on the notion of olive bread (others are free to disagree), so if you do decide to go with a crusty olive bread, do yourself the favor that I didn’t, and make sure they are black olives!
This kale caesar salad is great as a meal (add some grilled chicken, steak, or shrimp) or as a side dish to [insert your favorite pasta, Sunday roast chicken, pot roast, etc. etc. here]!
Tuscan Kale Caesar Salad: Recipe Instructions
Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your salad greens and set aside.
Cut your bread into bite-sized chunks. Drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 5-10 minutes. 5 minutes if you just want them toasty, 10 minutes if you want them crunchy.
Next, make the dressing. Combine the anchovy fillets, garlic, egg yolks, dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Turn the blender on high speed, and very slowly and gradually stream in 1 cup of olive oil until fully emulsified. It will look thick, creamy, and yellow in color. Add the parmesan cheese and ground black pepper and turn on the blender again to combine.
Load your favorite salad bowl with the greens, croutons, and parmesan shavings, and toss with the caesar dressing (using as much as your personal preference calls for).
Serve your Caesar Salad with Tuscan Kale immediately and put some of that luscious dressing on the side!
