Kale Caesar Salad

This salad is hearty and filling enough to be a light supper. It's from the Tartine Bread book. This recipe makes quite a lot of dressing, so feel free to up the amount of kale, or add some romaine or other mixed greens. Big, oily, salty croutons are a great addition to this salad.

Making an emulsion for the dressing is a bit tricky, but even if the emulsion breaks, the dressing is still delicious. Just put it in a jar and shake it up before dressing the salad.

1-3 bunches dino or red russian kale (or romaine)
Homemade croutons
2 cups olive oil
2 lemons
6 anchovy filets
1 egg yolk
2 cloves garlic
salt

Wash and tear the kale (de-stemming it in the process) into bite sized pieces.  Dry thoroughly and set aside.

Zest one of the lemons directly into a mortar and pestle.  Now for the tricky part:  using the mortar and pestle, crush the garlic, lemon zest and the anchovies until you have a paste without too many chunks in it.  Add the egg yolk and salt and keep mashing until well combined.  Now add 1/2 cup olive oil one drop at a time, stirring and mashing as you go.  The dressing should thicken as you add the oil.  After the first 1/2 cup is added, the recipe says to add the rest of the oil in a steady stream while constantly mixing.  I, however, have had the best luck continuing to add the oil a small bit at a time (time consuming, but worth it).  Add a squeeze of lemon juice every now and then as you go.  Once all the oil is added, taste and add more lemon juice and/or salt if needed.  

If your emulsion breaks (the oil is separating from the rest of the ingredients), don't worry about it.  Put the entire batch into a mason jar with a tightly sealed lid and dress the salad.  

Dress the salad and then add my homemade croutons.