Garlicky

I am sitting on my balcony right now listening to the ocean and the sound of boxes being taped, as the last of our belongings get loaded into the moving truck that will be headed to NYC.  My neighbor bunny is not pleased with the situation and is currently giving me the stink eye.

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The Bunny giving me the stink eye

Tomorrow we are off on a week-long road trip that will eventually lead us to NYC.

Moving!

Moving!

Along the way we plan on stopping at the Grand Canyon, the Jack Daniels Distillery, Nashville and we hope to check out the bourbon trail in Kentucky.  I plan on documenting all of this and I hope to do a fun road trip post along the way.  I wanted to post something before we hit the road, and this is the first thing that came to me.  I am still on my kale kick and I am still so surprised at how versatile it can be.  This recipe is perfect for a warm summer night… I decided to add some tofu to my salad to make it a meal.

Ingredients

For The Salad

  • 1 Bunch Dinosaur or Lacinato Kale, the dark green leafy kale
  • Freshly Grated Parmesan
  • ½ Cup Roasted garlic vinaigrette (recipe follows)
  • 2 Persian Cucumbers
  • Cubed crispy tofu

For The Dressing

  • 1 Head Garlic
  • 1/3 Cup Olive oil
  • Juice of 1 Lemon (about ¼ cup)
  • 2 Tsp Dijon Mustard
  • ½ Tsp Salt

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Remove the outer layers from the head of garlic so the individual cloves are exposed.
  3. Chop off the top ¼ inch of the head so you can see the raw cloves within their skins.
  4. Place on a  sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap up so the packet is tightly sealed.
  5. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until the cloves are soft to the touch. Remove from the foil packet and allow to cool.
  6. When cool enough to touch, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and add to a food processor.
  7. Puree the garlic clove along with the lemon juice, mustard, salt, and 1/3 cup olive oil. Taste and add more olive oil as necessary to reach the consistency you like. This should be a thick dressing – much like Caesar.  Now onto the salad!
  8. Remove the thick stalks from the center of the kale. Tear the leaves into chip size pieces and place it in a colander and wash throughly.
  9. Dry the leaves in a salad spinner or pat dry with a paper bowl.
  10. In a large mixing bowl, toss the kale and cucumbers together with the vinaigrette.
  11. Grate 2 TBS of fresh parmesan or more if you are feeling cheesy and toss again.
  12. Place salad on a plate and top with some fresh fried tofu or your protein of choice.

I also ate my salad with a side of Velvety Smooth Hummus and some veggies….sooo tasty!

Tah Dah!

4 thoughts on “Garlicky Kale Caesar

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