This post is Part 4 of a series called Fuelled for Work. Every few weeks we will share a post with recipes and ideas for workplace lunches and snacks that keep your brain fired up, your stomach satiated and your taste buds stimulated. Check out the last Fuelled for Work recipe for Curried Apple Quinoa Salad here.
Down the road from the Salopek office is a popular pizza joint, arguably one of the best pizza places in Calgary. Although they are best known for their thin, crispy, flatbreads, their salads have become increasingly popular. Originating as a pizza topping, their kale and prosciutto mix became so popular the restaurant began selling it as a side salad, and then as a complete meal available for take-out. It’s a popular lunch choice for some of those in our office and the smell of it over lunch break was inspiration to attempt it at home.
This is a superb work lunch for its combination of protein, fats, salts and crunch. Packed with flavour and aromas it will satisfy that desire for a restaurant-worthy meal. If you are moving towards eating out less and bringing homemade lunches, it’s a great idea to replicate some of your favourite restaurant dishes at home. If you’re anything like me, once you get past the time-consuming element of preparing a week of meals, you’ll find you very quickly prefer the homemade version anyway.
To lighten the dressing a little (which tends to be a bit overpowering), I replaced a portion of the oil with lemon juice, making it more tangy on the palate and lighter on the stomach. The roasted garlic is the best part – I recommend roasting the garlic in advance when using the oven at another time. A typical Caesar uses anchovies, however olives do just the trick and are more likely on hand. This salad will have you looking forward to another day in the office!
Kale Caesar Salad
Makes 2 – 3 lunches
As published on De La Casa
Dressing:
1 head garlic
¼ cup olive oil plus a little to drizzle on garlic
juice of 1 lemon (about 1/3 cup)
3 olives, pitted
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Shed the head of garlic of its outer layer, exposing the cloves, with the base still intact. Chop off the top 1/4 inch of the head so you can see the raw cloves within their skins.
Drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly in foil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, until the cloves are soft to the touch. Remove from the foil and allow to cool.
When cool enough to touch, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and add to a food processor. You may choose to only use half the roasted head of garlic as it will be quite strong. Puree the garlic along with the olive oil, lemon juice, olives and mustard. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. It should be fairly thick, tangy and not too salty.
Salad:
1 large bunch kale leaves
Grana Padano or Parmesan, shaved
1 slice sourdough rye bread (or bread of choice)
4 slices prosciutto, diced
4 hard boiled eggs (cooked for 8 – 10 mins, peeled)
Remove and discard the stems from the kale leaves (this is easily done by running the leaves between your fingers, stripping them from the stem) and thinly slice the leaves. Toss with the dressing and leave to marinate. Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan and add the diced prosciutto. Saute over low heat. Dice the bread into cubes and add to the pan of prosciutto. Cook until bread is toasty and prosciutto begins to brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Layer the kale leaves on a platter with the bread cubes, prosciutto, shavings of Parmesan and sliced hard boiled egg.