Happy New Year! It feels good to get a fresh start. Healthy habits, like eating more greens, are easy to maintain when you make them taste really good. Enter: brown butter breadcrumbs! I brought this dish to every holiday potluck party I went to and it was always a hit. A fresh burst of zesty green on the table always perks everyone up (but I’m pretty sure it’s the brown butter breadcrumbs that gets ‘em hooked). This salad comes together really quickly – the tedious part is washing, drying and chopping the kale but if you have a food processor just give the leaves a few pulses and you’ll be eating the best-kale-salad-ever in no time! I’ve made this salad with all kinds of different breadcrumbs: panko, flourless ezekiel bread, an old country loaf – whatever you have on hand will work. I usually give my bread a toast in the oven to really dry it out before making breadcrumbs in the food processor. To save a couple bucks, I also grate the parmesan cheese in the food processor as well. Here’s to a healthy, happy new year!
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Step 1
Place 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan on medium heat. Let that get brown and toasty – this may take a few minutes. Place breadcrumbs in pan and let those get nice and brown too – but not burnt!
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Step 2
Mix the ingredients for the dressing together in a jar with a lid or whisk in a glass with a fork.
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Step 3
Finely chop the kale – even finer than pictured. Place all the ingredients, including the dressing, into a large bowl and toss to coat.
Ingredients for the Kale Salad
10 cups finely chopped kale
1.5 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
Ingredients for the Lemon Garlic Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 to 5 garlic cloves, pressed (I like mine pretty garlicky)
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper flakes
Directions
Wash and dry the kale. I like to really dry / massage my kale by squeezing the leaves in a kitchen towel very well then finely chop. In a pan, brown 2 tablespoons of butter on medium heat. This may take a few minutes, just be patient – but also be sure not to burn it! Throw in the breadcrumbs and let those get toasty and brown as well. To make the dressing combine all the ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake or whisk it all up in a glass with a fork. Combine everything together in a large bowl and toss to coat.