Kale! Caesar! Salad
10
- Prep Time50 mins
- Total Time1 hr
- Makes4 to 6 servings
Photography by Dominique Lafond. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
This is the salad equivalent of getting catfished. All the ingredients come together to trick your brain into thinking you’re eating a delicious Caesar salad, but there’s no mayonnaise and no anchovies anywhere in the recipe. The only thing it has in common with a Caesar are the croutons and the cheese (which we really couldn’t live without). Hail, Caesar!—Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky of Elena
Tahini Caesar Dressing (Makes 2 cups)
12 cloves garlic, divided
3 tbsp + 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbsp cold water
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup canola oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Salad
3 cups Garlic Croutons, see recipe below
1 bunch Tuscan kale, stems removed
1 head radicchio, shredded
2 cups baby kale
Juice of 1 lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup finely grated parmesan
Instructions
Dressing: Preheat oven to 350F. Create a pouch using foil and nestle 10 garlic cloves and 3 tbsp olive oil inside. Seal up the foil to prevent any oil or steam from escaping. Place the garlic pouch on a baking sheet and roast in the oven until garlic turns squishy, about 40 min. Remove garlic from the oven but leave the oven on. Open the pouch to let garlic cool down.
In a small bowl, whisk together tahini and cold water until smooth. When garlic has cooled down a little, add it to a blender along with tahini mixture, the two remaining raw garlic cloves, vinegar, Dijon and salt. Pulse to combine. With the motor running, gradually add canola oil. (Adding it slowly will help emulsify the dressing.) Repeat the process with remaining 1/3 cup olive oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Spread croutons on a baking sheet and put in the oven to warm up while you make the salad.
Salad: In a large bowl, add Tuscan kale, radicchio and baby kale; mix with your hands. Add tahini dressing to your liking (you will probably end up with extra dressing), lemon juice, a generous glug of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a few twists of pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
Remove garlic croutons from the oven and add to the salad along with grated parmesan. Toss again and serve immediately.
This wouldn't be an almost-Caesar salad without the Garlic Croutons, would it? Get the Elena team's Garlic Croutons recipe.
Get the recipe for Elena's Yeasted Neapolitan Pizza Dough.
Get more recipes from Elena: 5 Recipes For Your Best-Ever Backyard Pizza Party
Excerpted from Salad Pizza Wine by Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky. Copyright ©2023 Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky. Photography by Dominique Lafond. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.