In the category of salads, Caesar salad is second to none. Crisp romaine, crunchy croutons and a creamy, garlicky dressing are perfectly delicious.
This recipe is a unique take on the original salad. The combination of mezze rigatoni and Tuscan kale’s vibrant color are striking together. It’s perfect to serve with grilled herb chicken or some juicy grilled steaks.
The dressing is quite simple, only relying on a few good ingredients. It’s creamy, a little garlicky, tangy, and savory from the anchovies and Parmesan.
To top everything off, crunchy, lemony breadcrumbs are scattered over the salad just before serving. You must not skip this!
The original recipe mentions chilling the salad for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. If you choose to do this, make sure you increase the dressing portion of the recipe by at least half since the dressing will be absorbed by the pasta as it sits. The pasta will firm up quite a bit as well. I found that chilling the salad an hour before serving is plenty of time. You can even serve it at room temperature.
This take on the Caesar salad is an absolute winner.
Kale Caesar Pasta Salad
4
servingsRecipe adapted from Dan Pelosi, New York Times Cooking
Ingredients
- Salad
8 ounces mezze rigatoni or other short pasta
1/2 cup panko
Zest of 1 lemon (reserve lemon for dressing)
1 small garlic clove, grated
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 cups Tuscan kale ribbons, stems removed and firmly packed (about 3 ounces)
1/4 cup Parmesan shavings
- Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
3-4 anchovy fillets, drained
2 medium garlic cloves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and spread out on a tray to cool.
- Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko, lemon zest, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil and a big pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir to mix, then continue to stir until the garlic is fragrant and the panko is evenly browned, about 4 minutes, lowering heat as needed. Transfer bread crumbs to a plate to cool.
- In the bowl of a food processor, combine mayonnaise, grated Parmesan, anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, mustard and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, about 30-60 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning adding more lemon juice, salt and pepper as needed. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. Dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance.
- In a large bowl, use your hands to massage kale ribbons with remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil, until just tender. Add cooled pasta and half of the dressing. Refrigerate for an hour then toss again with remaining dressing. If serving right away, toss salad with all of the dressing.
- Just before serving top with Parmesan shavings and breadcrumbs. Leftovers will last for 3 days in the refrigerator (make extra dressing to stir in if you plan to have leftovers).
Notes
- Increase dressing if you plan to refrigerate the salad longer than an hour as the pasta will absorb quite a bit of it while being chilled.