Tuscan kale salad
Cavolo nero, the Tuscan kale with dark, wrinkled leaves, is the backbone of Tuscany's winter cooking — usually it goes into ribollita. More and more often it is also served raw, in a salad that wins over even kale sceptics: leaves cut into thin ribbons and massaged with lemon juice and olive oil until they soften, then covered with grated pecorino and breadcrumbs toasted with garlic and chilli. The massaging is the key — it breaks down the tough fibres so raw kale turns tender and less bitter.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Cutting and massaging 12 min
- Crisp breadcrumbs 8 min
- Resting 15 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneStrip the leaves
Wash the kale and dry it well. Hold each stem in one hand and run the other along it, stripping off the leaves. Discard the tough stems.
Ingredients: 300 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) or curly kale · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 50 g pecorino, finely grated · ½ tsp black pepper
Tough stems out, leaves in.Cut into ribbons
Roll the leaves up and slice as thinly as you can, into 2–3 mm ribbons.
Ingredients: 300 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) or curly kale · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 50 g pecorino, finely grated · ½ tsp black pepper
Massage the kale
Put the kale in a bowl, pour over the lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt it and knead with your hands for 2–3 minutes, until the leaves soften, darken and shrink by a third.
Ingredients: 300 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) or curly kale · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 50 g pecorino, finely grated · ½ tsp black pepper
Massage until soft and dark.Rest
Leave the kale 15 minutes — the lemon keeps softening the leaves.
Ingredients: 300 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) or curly kale · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 50 g pecorino, finely grated · ½ tsp black pepper
Toast the breadcrumbs
Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add the finely chopped garlic and chilli flakes, and after 30 seconds the breadcrumbs. Toast 4–5 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden and crisp. Tip onto a plate.
Ingredients: 40 g coarse breadcrumbs or panko · 1 tbsp olive oil · 1 clove garlic · ¼ tsp chilli flakes
Golden and crisp — this salad's croutons.Dress
Pour the rest of the olive oil over the kale, add half the pecorino and the pepper and toss.
Ingredients: 300 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) or curly kale · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 50 g pecorino, finely grated · ½ tsp black pepper
Taste
Taste and adjust with salt or lemon — the salad should be clearly sharp and salty, since kale is mild.
Ingredients: 300 g cavolo nero (Tuscan kale) or curly kale · 3 tbsp lemon juice · 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil · ½ tsp salt · 50 g pecorino, finely grated · ½ tsp black pepper
Serve
Pile onto plates and scatter with the rest of the pecorino and the crisp breadcrumbs just before serving, so they stay crunchy.
Ingredients: 40 g coarse breadcrumbs or panko · 1 tbsp olive oil · 1 clove garlic · ¼ tsp chilli flakes
Before you start
Ordinary kale
Cavolo nero turns up in autumn and winter in larger supermarkets and markets, and it is easy to grow if you have a garden. Curly kale works too, but massage it longer, 4–5 minutes, and remove the thick ribs carefully.
Additions
Popular additions are sliced pear, toasted walnuts or anchovy fillets mashed into the dressing. Each pairs well with pecorino.
Storage
Unlike most leafy salads, this one keeps a day in the fridge, since kale softens only slowly in the dressing and does not go watery. Store the breadcrumbs separately and add them just before serving.
