Salad
9 cups fresh kale (cleaned and stemmed)
6 thin pieces of cooked pancetta
3 hard boiled eggs cut in half to make 6 portions
6 lemon slices
Crispy topping
1/3 cup gluten free breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs (Japanese style breadcrumbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons organic butter
Sprinkle of sea salt
Caesar Dressing
1/2 cup organic cold pressed olive oil
1 organic egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon chopped capers
1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2-3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano (use a microplane if possible)
1/2 teaspoon raw honey
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Method
Note- Remove the breadcrumbs and honey and you got yourself a low carb caesar salad
Clean and de-stem your kale; chop your kale into very fine slices, it is called chiffonade in French. Add the kale to a large bowl.
Bring your 3 eggs to a boil with the lid on, turn the heat off when it starts boiling and keep the lid on. Set the timer for 10 minute; then allow eggs to cool in cold water.
Pan fry your pancetta until crispy, then set aside on a paper towel.
Crispy topping: In a small sautée pan, melt the butter on medium heat, add your panko breadcrumbs and season with sea salt.
Allow the heat to brown the panko, once they are thoroughly browned, remove from heat and allow to cool.
Dressing: Dampen a dish cloth and wrap it up into a circle onto a cutting board so that your bowl will sit nicely onto the damp cloth. The point of this is to keep the bowl still, while you are whisking in the ingredients.
Put a medium sized glass or stainless steel bowl on top the damp cloth. You want your bowl to hug the damp cloth and hold the bowl in place. Add your egg yolk and Dijon mustard to the bowl.
Very slowly, whisk in your oils to the egg yolk and Dijon mixture; it will become very thick like mayonnaise. If you do not go slow enough you can break the emulsion and have to start over again. Add the lemon juice and vinegar this will loosen up the dressing and give it more dressing like texture.
Add the rest of your ingredients and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.
The LOVE in this kale caesar salad is the crispy panko, fresh ground pepper and white wine vinegar!
How to assemble your masterpiece?
Toss your chiffonade kale with as much dressing as you like. Separate the dressed kale into 6 big bowls.
Sprinkle the crispy panko over each salad.
Add a piece of crispy pancetta and 1⁄2 hard boiled egg.
Season with fresh ground pepper and top the salad with a lemon wedge.
Voila! Bon Appétit.