Smoked Salmon Kale Caesar Salad

Traditional caesar salad just got a glow up! This kale caesar salad recipe is everything you wanted to glam up your dinner table this summer. Sweet/smoky salmon, creamy garlicky caesar dressing, crunchy croutons, I mean it really is perfection.

The most impotant thing to remember when working with kale is that you MUST massage the kale before adding the dressing. This helps to soften the leaves and make it more palatable. Trust me on this one & thank me later ;)

*If you can get your hands on West Coast Select Maple Smoked Salmon Nuggets, I hightly recommend it for this recipe. Otherwise try and get a smoked/candied salmon. The sweetness really levels up this recipe. Have a look on the ingredient list to see if there is sugar, maple syrup, honey or another sweetner added. It soooo worth it!

Smoked Salmon Kale Caesar Salad

Serves 4

What you'll need:

Creamy Caesar Dressing

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 heaping tbsp capers, roughly chopped

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, grated

1 tsp dijon mustard

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp truffle oil, optional

Salad

1 large bunch of curly kale, taken off the stems & roughly chopped

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Pinch of salt

200 g smoked salmon, *see note above (I used West Coast Select Maple Smoked Salmon Nuggets), roughly chopped or broken up with your hands into bite size pieces.

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion or pickled red onions

1/4 cup croutons (store bought or homemade)

Steps:

Start by massaging the kale. Add the roughly chopped kale to a large bowl, drizzle 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon over the kale leaves and sprinkly with 1 pinch of salt. Massage the kale with your hands until all the leaves are softened slightly, about 1 minute. Set aside.

In a medium bowl or large measuring cup combine 1/2 cup mayo, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tbsp roughly chopped capers, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 grated garlic clove, 1 tsp dijon mustard, black pepper, and 1 tsp truffle oil (if using). Whish until combined.

To assemble & serve: Toss massaged kale with desired amount of dressing. Pile onto a serving platter, top with smoked salmon pieces, thinly sliced red onion (or pickled red onion and croutons. Serve.

Store leftover dressing in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 5 days. Massaged kale (without dressing) will keep for 3 days in a airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy, my friends!