Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds and Picada Crumbs

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Made this for dinner on a whim the last night of my vacation, after getting home from Arizona the night before. Something light and fresh sounded great. This was a wonderful salad, without cheese! I couldn’t believe it. Rarely do I make a salad without cheese on purpose!. It would be an easy salad to make ahead. There is so much flavor, and what I especially liked was how acidic it was. There are a lot of acidic components which really add a punch of flavor. I think it would be great with a piece of grilled fish. I just had it with some toasts which was also good. Definitely something to make again.

There are a lot of places you could go with this one, changing the flavors a little bit here and there. I did make some changes based on what I had.

What did I change/do differently: I used less olive oil than the recipe called for by a long shot. Didn’t have smoked almonds, so used toasted walnuts instead. Didn’t have thyme, but did have parsley, cilantro and mint so in that all went. Added a little smoked paprika since I didn’t have any smoked almonds. Used regular curly kale not lacinato. I only used a small amount of honey, maybe 1-2 teaspoons, not 2 tablespoons. Added sweet red pickled peppers, sliced thin, for a little extra flavor, color and acid. I also think some olives would be a lovely addition.

Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds and Picada Crumbs
From 177 Milk Street
Ingredients

  • 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

  • 5 tablespoons sherry vinegar

  • Kosher sald

  • 2 Tablespoons of honey

  • 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • Ground black pepper

  • 1 cup smoked almonds

  • 4 ounces white bread, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika

  • 2 bunches lacinato kale, stemmed, washed, spun dry and thinly sliced crosswise (10 cups)

  • 1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the shallots, vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. Allow to sit 10 minutes. Whisk in the honey, 5 tablespoons of the oil and ½ teaspoon pepper; set aside.

In a food processor, process the almonds until coarsely chopped, about 8 pulses; transfer to a large bowl. Add the bread to the processor and process to rough crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add the thyme, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, paprika, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Process until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Transfer the crumb mixture to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until crisp and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Add the kale and mint to the bowl with the almonds and massage the greens until the kale softens and darkens, 10 to 20 seconds. Add the dressing and crumbs and toss to combine. Taste, then season with salt and pepper