CHEF JONATHAN WAXMAN SHARES HIS KALE SALAD RECIPE
Award-winning chef Jonathan Waxman combines Italian-Californian cuisine with Southern ingredients with his latest restaurant, Baffi (Italian for “moustache”), which opened in West Midtown’s Stockyards development this winter. Here, Waxman shares his famous kale salad recipe, also available in his cookbook, The Barbuto Cookbook: California-Italian Cooking from the Beloved West Village Restaurant.
Kale Salad Serves 6
8 ounces kale (leave the stems intact)
6 fresh basil leaves, patted dry and rolled like a cigar
2–4 salt-cured anchovies, rinsed and deboned
2 cloves garlic, peeled, green shoots removed, and smashed
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Sea salt
1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₃ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tablespoon toasted breadcrumbs
Wash the kale well and dry in a salad spinner. On a wooden (this is important advice—plastic is impossible) cutting board, julienne the kale as thinly as possible. Place the kale in a salad bowl. Keep cold. Clean the board and wipe it dry.
On the cutting board, finely mince the basil. Add the anchovies and garlic, and continue to mince until you achieve a paste.
In another bowl, combine the basil and garlic paste with the egg yolk, mustard, 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt, red wine vinegar and the lemon juice. Use a whisk and mix well. Drizzle in the oil, whisking continuously, until you achieve a broken emulsion.
Pour 4 oz. of the dressing over the kale, enough to coat the leaves well (reserve the rest for another day). Using as much force as possible, crush the kale and dressing. This will release the enzymes from the kale to interact with the dressing’s acid and salt. Add a pinch of salt and a few turns of pepper.
Sprinkle with the cheese and breadcrumbs. Toss well, taste for seasoning and serve within an hour. Letting it sit for a little while does wonders for the flavor.
Baffi
976 Brady Ave. N.W.
Suite 110
Atlanta, 30318
404.724.9700
baffiatlanta.com
BY: Claire Ruhlin
I had this salad at Baffi not too long ago. It was so delicious I kept trying to figure out how to recreate it at home. Thank you so much for sharing!