Deconstructed Kale and Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Disclaimer: minor rant to follow.  As I write this blog post, I am reflecting on why I started the blog in the first place.

It was going to be a way to preserve the recipes that we learned from our mom.  A way to pay tribute to all that she had taught us.  The blog was supposed to be a place where I create, re-invent, and share recipes that are fun, practical and accessible for everyone, whether new to cooking, or seasoned cooks.  This blog was a way to corral all the good ideas that I’ve gleaned and want to keep track of.  And it should be fun for me to work on.

Don’t worry, I’m still having fun!  Even if this blog didn’t exist, I would still be cooking up a storm, and experimenting in the kitchen.  That’s just hard-wired into me.  The blog is a way to have all those recipes at our fingertips, so that when someone asks me for a recipe, I don’t have to type it out and email it to them (which is another reason this blog got its start) It’s like a virtual cookbook of everything that we love to eat.

But what has gotten me down in recent times is the social media aspect of promoting the blog.  I get it, it’s a necessary aspect these days, of directing attention to where people can find recipes, letting them know when a new recipe is up, or reminding them of a favourite older recipe. Don’t get me wrong, if it wasn’t for social media, specifically Instagram, I would probably never have started this blog.   It was from fellow IG’ers from around the world that I received the encouragement to create the blog.  And back then, being on social media was a lot of fun!  It was great to meet other bloggers on social media on their own food journey.  Making connections has inspired me and allowed me to meet ones who could teach me new things as well.  But in recent times, there is a somewhat cutthroat aspect to it that has put a damper on the whole journey.  These days, it seems to be all about that perfect, professional photo, where every blogger suddenly needs to be a professional photographer with a webinar and tutorials to guide others in the craft.  And while the shine of those perfect photographs is understandably appealing to the eye, the holy grail of Instagram, it’s almost at the expense of the recipes.  People care more about how fancy the imagery, and dramatic the lighting, how intricate the design of the latest 14 colour chia pudding or layered smoothie bowl, for the sensational reaction.  A boost in numbers and likes seems to be the end game these days.  We all love looking at those photos, but how many of us are actually going to make them for breakfast?!

So, I’m not sure if it’s some sort of backlash, but I’m ready to head in the exact opposite direction.  I don’t want to spend an entire day preparing a meal, just for the photo op it may offer to someone.  This may affect my ranking in the world of Instagram.  But, oh dear, Instagram is NOT the end game, this blog is, work wise.  The goal for me is to keep that social media world in its place, or at least try and put that genie back in the bottle.  This was an a-ha moment: find my focus again.  I want to develop and share recipes that you will want to make, not develop recipes that you will be intimidated by!  And that’s not to say you would be intimated by them, but would you turn to them in a pinch?  Would they become trusted favourites?

Done with the rant, very cathartic.  But you aren’t my therapists, haha!  Please don’t hold it against me.  I’m usually a positive, perky person!  And I did turn some well needed IG down time into so many more productive activities.  And I’ve got all sorts of new ideas cooking in my weird head, so it’s all good!  I’m not even sure how many will read this.  Most readers just move on down to the recipe these days anyway!!

Jim and I love our Caesar Salad in the summer.  It is a staple, and quite popular with our friends who don’t mind some major garlic breath! In fact, there’s a reason it is called The Ultimate Caesar Salad. You can find my original recipe here.

But how could I take this recipe and Winterize it?  Or at least make it fun for the cooler months?  This is what started percolating in my brain.  I would replace the romaine lettuce with kale.  And if I was going that far, then I might as well add some brussels sprouts.  Thankfully Jim loves both.

The dressing is basically made up of lemon, olive oil, garlic, egg, parmesan and anchovy (or Worcestershire sauce) right?  So these would have to show up some how.  And of course there is the bacon, can’t forget the bacon!

I decided that I would deconstruct this salad and turn it into a meal.  After the greens had been shredded, I decided to warm them through just to soften and maybe char the sprouts a bit.  This could be done in some olive oil.  Or perhaps bacon fat? Hmmm… Perhaps the garlic and anchovy could infuse the oil and then the greens could soften in that.  And then I would squeeze some fresh lemon juice over it all.  There, some of the ingredients covered.  The bacon fat would obviously come from the bacon that I would first crisp up to add to the finished dish.

So now all I had to think about were the croutons and the parmesan cheese.  And this is where I went:  I would broil up some sourdough slices, covered in a goodly amount of cheese.  Like really big croutons.  But to get the full melty effect that cheese can offer, I would add an additional cheese.  I just pulled out what was in the fridge cheese drawer.  The melty cheese I had on hand was emmenthal.  But gruyere, cheddar, swiss, provolone, even mozzarella would have worked.  They became adulty grilled cheese toasts, on the side of the salad!

Oh, the eggs.  These days I will pop a jammy egg or poached egg on just about anything.  So why not this dinner salad?!  There, all the ingredients made it into this dish.

This recipe is more about compiling than it is about exact measurements.  I’m sure that you guys know what you like and don’t like.  Don’t like brussels sprouts?  Don’t use them.  Don’t want to add the anchovy?  No probs.  Go with the Worcestershire sauce.  Keeping it vegetarian?  Replace the bacon with olive oil.  Don’t have any of the cheeses I mentioned above in the fridge, but you do have montery jack or asiago?  Use them instead.  Want it to be low carb or keto, skip the bread and just shave the cheese over the finished salad.

You can pretty well eye ball the amount of greens you will want to use.  Is this going to be a side salad or a main meal?  Shred some kale (use lacinato, the only pre-requisite for this dish) and put it on your plate.  Does it look like enough for someone to eat and be satisfied?  Then just double or triple or quadruple the amount depending on how many mouths you are feeding.  The kale will barely be heated through, so it won’t really shrink.

I presented this to Jim with fried eggs (his favourite way to have eggs) and the cheese toasts on the side for dinner.  He ate it all.  And was completely satisfied.  And this is how I know I can share the recipe with you!  If he had left a substantial amount claiming that he had work to do, or a phone call to make, then I would be worried.  But the plate was cleaned.  And he even had dessert.  And leftovers were sautéed up the next morning and topped with another egg!

So all hail the Winter Deconstructed Caesar Salad!  Until summer’s cold Caesar Salad returns.

Love Jen

5 from 2 votes

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Deconstructed Kale and Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Everything that goes into a classic Caesar Salad, but in a fresh new way.  The greens are lightly wilted in anchovy and garlic infused bacon fat, or olive oil.  Then they get drizzled with freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Add some jammy soft boiled eggs, and parmesan toasts and you've got a winter salad fit for Caesar himself!

Course Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 anchovy filet, can be replaced with 1/2-1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, depending on how salty you like things
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves minced (depending on how garlicky you like things and how strong or large the cloves are)
• 12 medium sized brussels sprouts, shredded
• 4 large handfuls of shredded lacinato, black kale, approximate
• 1/2 lemon freshly squeezed
• Cracked black pepper
• 4 slices of sourdough bread
• 2 cups shredded cheese choose a melting cheese, such as cheddar, emmenthal, gruyere, swiss, provolone etc.
• 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
• 6-8 eggs soft boiled, poached or even fried

Instructions

1. Sauté the bacon over medium heat in a large frying pan.

2. Remove the bacon to a paper towel line plate to drain. Crumble into bite sized pieces.

3. Discard enough fat so that only 2 tbsp remain in the pan. If there is not enough fat, supplement with olive oil.
4. Add the anchovy filet, and stir it around, letting it melt into the oil.
5. Add the minced garlic and stir to get coated in the oil (the heat should still be no more than medium) and soften slightly.
6. Add the brussels sprouts to the oil and sauté, softening and even getting a slight char in spots. This should take no more than two to three minutes.
7. Push the sprouts to the edges and then add the shredded kale into the centre of the pan. Sauté to soften but not totally wilt or shrink the kale.
8. Remove all to a large bowl or serving platter. Sprinkle generously with the lemon juice.
9. Also add a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Toss to evenly coat everything with the lemon and pepper. Taste to see if it needs re-seasoning. Depending on your bacon and whether you used anchovy or Worcestershire sauce, you may not need any salt.

   Add the crumbled or broken bacon to the salad.

10. Divide the cheeses evenly between the four slices of bread. Place under a broiler, not too close though, and cook until the cheeses are melted and bubbling. Remove and let sit for a moment before slicing into large croutons.
11. Serve the salad with the crouton toasts and eggs.

Recipe Notes

Omit the bacon for a vegetarian version.

Omit the bread for a low carb, keto version. In this case, just shave the parmesan cheese over the finished salad.

If you don't want to use brussels sprouts, just increase the amount of kale you are using.