Super Simple Garden Recipes: Kale Caesar Salad with Nutty Herb Croutons
Shared by BUG Gardener Christine, who says, “I love a good kale caesar! We've had so much great kale from the garden this year! Our herb garden has also been wonderful.”
Ingredients:
1 big bunch of fresh-from-the-garden kale
Parmesan cheese, to taste
Bacon or grilled chicken - if that's your thing!
Nutty herb croutons (see recipe below)
Caesar dressing (see recipe below)
Instructions:
Dunk kale leaves in bowl of cold water and massage to get any debris and/or creatures out (especially if using curly kale).
Chop or rip kale leaves into bite size pieces and place in salad bowl.
Pour on dressing until lightly coated and then get your (clean) hands in there and cover all the kale with that dressing. Add more dressing if needed.
Add croutons, parmesan cheese and protein, if desired, and enjoy!
Nutty Herb Croutons (from "Oh She Glows" blog/cookbook)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 cup raw almonds
2 tbsp chopped sweet onion
2 tbsp packed fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley
2 tbsp packed fresh basil or 1 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp fresh thyme or ½ tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp fresh rosemary or ½ tsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
~¼ tsp fine-grain sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
2. In a small bowl combine 1 T ground flaxseed, 1T of olive oil and 2T water, let it sit till thickened.
3.Using a food processor (or a knife) mince garlic, add almonds and process until finely chopped, add onions, all fresh herbs, salt and finally blend in the flax seed mixture, it should be a lumpy "dough" depending on how finely you've chopped it.
4. Dump out onto a baking sheet, break up into clumps and spread out evenly. (if you chop it fine it will be very clumpy, if you chop it coarser it will be more like a loose granola - both are tasty - but I prefer it a bit coarser).
5. Bake for 20 minute then stir/flip and bake for another 10-15 min until golden.
6. After cool, store the croutons in the fridge - truly they go great with any salad!
Christine shared, “We use various recipes for the Caesar dressing or you can just buy the dressing. Bon Appetit has a great raw (or pasteurized raw egg) recipe. But, I often use the quick Mayo-Caesar trick from Epicurious:
Ingredients:
2 small garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup bottled mayonnaise
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions:
In a bowl whisk together the garlic paste, the anchovy paste, the lemon juice, the mustard, and the Worcestershire sauce, add the mayonnaise, the Parmesan, and pepper to taste, and whisk the dressing until it is combined well.
