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Kale Salad

Kale Salad

Prep: 15 min
Ready: 20 min
2-4
saladvegetarianhealthyquick

A classic raw kale salad with garlic, Pecorino Romano, and dried breadcrumbs that transforms tough greens into a tender, flavorful dish.

Ingredients

Salad

  • 1 bunch kale, thick ribs cut out
  • ¼ cup dried breadcrumbs

Dressing

  • ½ garlic clove, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more to finish
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ⅛ teaspoon dried chile flakes
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Stack several kale leaves on top of one another and roll them up into a tight cylinder. With a sharp knife, slice crosswise into very thin, about 1/16 inch, ribbons (this is called a chiffonade).
  2. Put the kale in a salad spinner, rinse in cool water, and spin until completely dry. Pile the kale into a bowl.
  3. Put the chopped garlic on a cutting board and mince it even more until you have a paste (you can sort of smash and scrape the garlic with the side of the knife as well).
  4. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl, add ¼ cup pecorino, a healthy glug of olive oil, the lemon juice, chile flakes, ¼ teaspoon salt, and plenty of twists of black pepper, and whisk to combine.
  5. Pour the dressing over the kale and toss well to thoroughly combine (you can use your clean hands for this, to be efficient).
  6. Taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, chile flakes, or black pepper. Let the salad sit for about 5 minutes so the kale softens slightly.
  7. Top with the breadcrumbs, shower with more cheese, and drizzle with more oil before serving.