Last week I posted one of my favorite ‘go-to’ meals. So I thought why not post another?

I make this dressing and salad so often I have my ingredients and notes on making it taped on the inside of my kitchen cabinet.

Using kale or any sturdy green with this Caesar dressing makes a really nice basic salad.  You can change the types of vinegar’s and mustard’s to tweak dressing to make it your own. The one secret to making a really great dressing is to taste, taste, taste as you are making it.

This makes enough for a really-really big salad. I usually have leftovers. The leftovers keep for a week, so yay! You can have more salad! For the dressing you will need.

4 whole anchovy fillets-I know some people have a problem with anchovies, sorry, but you need them here.
2 tablespoons mustard any Dijon or any grainy mustard will do
1 tablespoon  vinegar – I almost always use balsamic
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves (or more ) fresh garlic, peeled
1/2 whole lemon, juiced-I often use lime if that is what i have
1/2 cup-I almost always use 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 cup neutral flavor oil like avocado, using all olive oil is too bitter for me.
1 egg yolk OR 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan- I almost always use an egg yolk and not the Parmesan in the dressing, I put the Parmesan ON the salad, but if you want to use both, go for it!
1 dash salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash and dry whatever greens you are using and put them in a bowl big enough to really be able to mix and toss the salad.

Put all the ingredients except for the oils you are using in a food processor or blender and pulse a few time to fully incorporate them all. With the food processor, or blender on slowly drizzle the oil into the other ingredients-slowly, you will hear the ingredients thicken and start to ‘slap”. You’ll know what I mean when you hear it. Taste the dressing and add more lemon or vinegar or garlic if you need to.

I completely forgot to take a picture of the dressing in the food processor-gack…but here is a picture of the salad before I tossed it. I like to put croutons in with the kale and dressing so they soften up a bit. Start with using about 1/2 the dressing and taste and add as you need it. Now toss-toss-mix-mix-taste-taste- really get that dressing on every bit of the salad ingredients.

Now you have a really nice basic satisfying Kale Caesar Salad….

….that you can add any protein or other vegetable or fruit to. We had poached salmon and topped the salmon with this vinaigrette. 

Leftovers are great the next day, the kale holds up really well. Hope this becomes your favorite too.

Have a great week.

Mo