I know I just wrote about kale. I know I just wrote about kale salad. But, hear me out. You need this salad. You need this salad on your dinner table tonight. This is a Caesar kale salad to cherish.

This is not a bottled Caesar, sort of meh tasting salad dressing. This is a real, make it yourself, loaded with all the good stuff Caesar. First things first. This dressing needs the anchovies. Do not skip them. This is hugely important. Let it sink in. Buy the anchovies. Put them in this salad dressing. Please trust me on this.

Ok, now we can move on. Matt made this dressing about a week ago for romaine. It was absolutely delicious. It made us wonder what it might be like with kale, a more robust flavored and firmer textured green. We tried it two ways this week. Once, we simply tossed the dressing with the kale. It was good, but need too much dressing to make it work. Then we tried massaging the dressing into the kale and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. This was amazing, definitely the way to go for this salad. Enjoy!

Must Have Caesar Dressing
* makes 1 quart, use within 5 days

Ingredients:

• 6 cloves garlic
• two 2oz cans anchovies with oil
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 c lemon juice
• 2 large egg yolks
• olive oil, to your choice consistency
• 3 oz freshly grated Parmesan
• Kale, stemmed and torn into small pieces
• Homemade croutons, recipe here, 5-10 per person (depends on how much you like croutons…we love them, so right about 11 for us)

Directions:

1. Using your food processor, pulse the garlic until very minced
2. Add anchovies and their oil, Dijon, black pepper, Kosher salt, and lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
3. Drop in egg yolks, one at a time, and process until smooth.
4. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, while food processor is running, until you get the consistency you like. We prefer a thick dressing, just loose enough to pour. It will thicken once you refrigerate.
5. Remove from food processor and stir in Parmesan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
6. Add some dressing to kale and massage so each piece is covered with dressing. Taste and see if you like it. Add more dressing, if desired. Toss croutons into salad. Let sit for 10 minutes. Top with additional shaved Parmesan, if desired. Enjoy!