True Food Kitchen's Kale Salad

Someone gifted me this amazing book without realizing I was a fan of Dr. Weil and the True Food Kitchen restaurant!  It was quite a surprise to hear "I saw this and thought of you!" as I immediately dove in reading the secrets of this wonderful place.  First thing I made was the kale salad.  I was amazed at how simple it was. I had a friend that also had the book and said the secret they don't tell you is to really massage the dressing into the salad to make the leaves a little more tender.  Both ways; tossed or massaged was good to me, just depends on how you prefer it.

Kale Salad
True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure
​Andrew Weil, MD

​Here's the signature dish of True Food Kitchen  People who never imagined eating raw kale quickly become devoted.  Unlike most salads, this one gets even better in the fridge overnight.  Make the extra effort to find Tuscan kale - also sometimes labeled as black kale, Russian kale, cavolo nero, or dinosaur kale - as it's deeper color and more complex flavor really lift this into the salad stratosphere.

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch red pepper flakes
2 bunches kale (14 ounces), ribs removed and sliced into 1/4" shreds
1/2 cup Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated
2 tablespoons toasted whole wheat bread crumbs
Grand Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese shavings, for garnish

1. In a salad bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes.  Add the kale and toss well to coat.  Let the salad sit at room temperature for 10 to 30 minutes.  Add the grated cheese and bread crumbs and toss again.
2. Garnish with the cheese shavings before serving.  Cover any leftovers and refrigerate up to 2 days.
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