Blanched Kale Salad with Garlic-Anchovy Breadcrumbs

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I love kale in all its manifestations, but lately it's been all about raw kale salads in my kitchen. And I'm not alone. Raw kale salads are riding a major trend. You see them everywhere, usually sporting a garlicky caesar dressing, or something else rich and cheesy to counterbalance all that green healthfulness.

It's counterintuitive, though, when you think about it. On the surface of it all, kale seems so sturdy and forbidding.

But when you choose the tenderest leaves and slice them thinly, raw kale can make for a surprisingly buoyant and vivacious salad (using lacinato, aka Tuscan kale, helps since it's usually very tender). 

A recipe I published in the Times for Raw Tuscan Kale Salad With Pecorino (based on one from Franny's Bklyn) is what I make at home all the time and last night I was craving it.  But the curly kale I had from the farmers' market turned out to be on the tough side—fibrous, bitter and a little sharp.  I think the leaves were too "mature" (and not in a good, aged-cheese way), so I subjeccted them to a steamy, quick blanching that rendered them soft, floppy, and very sweet.

A dash of bright, fresh lemon and a healthy splash of good olive oil slicked the wilted leaves with zing and buttery mellowness.  Then I bloomed a little garlic and anchovy in a pan with olive oil and  added some of the whole-wheat breadcrumbs I've been keeping around, and fried them until they were crunchy. 

Since Daniel doesn't eat cheese, I skipped the pecorino, which is what I often do when we're sharing the salad. It came out beautifully.  Though not technically "raw", the barely-blanched curly kale was deeply fulfilling, sweet, and extremely fresh tasting. Although I didn't add them, I could see chopped olives or whole capers making a suitable, saline garnish. 

I'm always happy to add a new kale dish to my already kale-happy repertory and this is a good one.

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