Sarra Ina Garten’s kale salad is lacinato kale sliced thin like coleslaw, tossed in a homemade Caesar dressing made with anchovies, garlic, egg yolks, lemon juice, and Pecorino, then topped with warm crispy pancetta, croutons toasted in the pancetta fat, and shaved Pecorino. It serves 4 and takes about 30 minutes.
This recipe comes from Ina’s Cooking for Jeffrey cookbook (2016). In the headnote, she addresses the backlash head-on: “Okay, I know there is a rebellion against kale going on. I’m not suggesting you eat it every day but it has great flavor and it’s also so good for you.” Her answer to the kale haters is not to make it healthy and virtuous but to load it with “warm pancetta, crisp croutons, and spicy Pecorino cheese” so it tastes like a Caesar salad that happens to be made with kale.
The technique that makes raw kale actually pleasant to eat is slicing it thinly crosswise “as you would coleslaw.” Lacinato kale leaves are tough and fibrous when left whole or torn by hand. Cutting them into thin ribbons breaks down the cell structure and creates enough surface area for the Caesar dressing to coat every strand. Skip the thin cut and leave the kale in big pieces, and the dressing slides off, pooling in the bowl while you chew through leathery leaves.
Ina Garten Kale Salad Recipe
Course: Salads, SidesCuisine: American, ItalianDifficulty: Easy4
servings15
minutes15
minutes580
kcalIna’s answer to the kale backlash from her Cooking for Jeffrey cookbook: slice it thin, dress it in Caesar, and pile on enough pancetta, croutons, and Pecorino that nobody remembers they are eating something healthy.
Ingredients
- For the Caesar dressing:
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4 anchovy fillets, drained
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1 large garlic clove
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1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
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2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
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1/3 cup (80ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice, at room temperature (2 lemons)
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Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
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2/3 cup (160ml) good olive oil, plus extra for cooking the pancetta
1/4 cup (25g) freshly grated Italian Pecorino cheese - For the salad:
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1 pound (450g) lacinato kale (also called dinosaur or Tuscan kale)
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4 ounces (115g) pancetta, small-diced
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1 cup (50g) half-inch-diced bread cubes, crusts removed
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1/2 cup (50g) shaved Italian Pecorino cheese (2 ounces)
Directions
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Make the dressing: Place the anchovies, garlic, mustard, egg yolks, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process for 30 seconds until smooth. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the mixture emulsifies. Add the grated Pecorino and process just until combined. Transfer to a container and refrigerate.
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Prep the kale: Wash the kale and spin dry in a salad spinner. Remove the tough center rib from each leaf. Stack the leaves and slice them thinly crosswise, as you would coleslaw. Place in a large bowl and toss with enough dressing to moisten.
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Cook the pancetta: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, tossing frequently, until browned and crisp. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
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Toast the croutons: Add the bread cubes to the same pan with the rendered pancetta fat. Sprinkle with salt and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing frequently, until evenly browned.
- Assemble and serve: Add the pancetta, toasted croutons, and shaved Pecorino to the dressed kale. Toss with large spoons and serve at room temperature.
Notes
- Use lacinato kale (also called dinosaur or Tuscan kale), not curly kale. Lacinato has a flatter, more tender leaf that softens nicely when dressed. Curly kale stays tough and catches too much dressing in its ruffles.
The dressing contains raw egg yolks. If this concerns you, use pasteurized eggs. All ingredients should be at room temperature so the emulsion forms properly.
Make ahead: prepare the dressing and slice the kale separately and refrigerate for up to a day. Just before serving, cook the pancetta and croutons and assemble the salad.
FAQs
Why does Ina slice the kale like coleslaw?
Raw kale is fibrous and tough. Slicing it into thin ribbons crosswise breaks down the cell walls, which softens the texture and makes it easier to chew without cooking. The thin cut also creates more surface area for the Caesar dressing to cling to every strand.
Leave the kale in large pieces and two things go wrong: the dressing pools at the bottom of the bowl instead of coating the leaves, and the kale stays chewy and unpleasant to eat raw. The coleslaw-thin cut is what makes this salad feel like a Caesar instead of a pile of raw greens.
Why does Ina toast the croutons in the pancetta fat?
After the pancetta comes out of the pan, the bread cubes go in to cook in the rendered pork fat that is left behind. This is not a shortcut to avoid adding more oil. It is a deliberate flavor move. The croutons soak up the salty, smoky pancetta drippings and crisp up in them, so they taste meaty and rich rather than just like toasted bread.
This one-pan approach also means every warm component in the salad, the pancetta and the croutons, share the same flavor base. When they land on the dressed kale, everything tastes cohesive instead of like separate ingredients that happen to be in the same bowl.
Can you make kale salad ahead of time?
Ina says to prepare the dressing and slice the kale separately and store them in the fridge. The dressing keeps for several days and the sliced kale holds for a day without wilting because it is much sturdier than lettuce.
Cook the pancetta and toast the croutons just before serving. If you add the warm toppings ahead of time, the croutons absorb moisture from the dressing and turn soggy, and the pancetta loses its crunch. The 15 minutes of stovetop cooking is all the last-minute work, and everything else waits in the fridge.
What other kale salads does Ina make?
Ina’s Broccoli & Kale Salad from Modern Comfort Food (2020) takes a different approach. She combines blanched broccoli with baby kale, a Caesar dressing, croutons, Parmesan, and a 6-and-a-half-minute egg on top. That version was inspired by a dish at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s restaurant and feels more like a composed main course than a side.
This pancetta version is simpler and punchier because the salty pork and sharp Pecorino do the heavy lifting. If you enjoy salads built on this same template of sturdy greens plus a warm topping plus cheese, Ina’s Roasted Carrot Salad from Cooking for Jeffrey uses the exact same structure with maple-roasted carrots, arugula, goat cheese, and Marcona almonds.
What should you serve kale salad with?
Ina positions this as a side dish or a light lunch, and it works both ways. As a side, it pairs well with simple roast chicken, grilled steak, or seared salmon because the bold Caesar dressing and salty pancetta can stand up to a main course without fading into the background.
As a lunch, the salad needs a piece of bread to round it out. Ina’s Garlic Bread Recipe is an obvious match since the garlic in both the Caesar dressing and the bread echo each other, and a warm, buttery slice gives you something to push the last bits of kale and crouton onto.
