cafeteria kale salad with roasted garlic dressing

salady.

they serve a salad very similar to this at the Gap's cafeteria, and it is addictive. there's also a version of it on the menu at the restaurant, cafeteria, which i had for dinner last night. it wasn't as good as my usual kale salad, and left me longing for the original. since i won't be back at the gap until monday, an impostor salad was needed to stand in. boxed baby kale to the rescue.

the only component that requires minimal effort is the roasted garlic dressing- but it's totally uncomplicated and worth the trouble. for one salad, you won't need the whole head, but it's great to have on hand- keep it in the fridge for up to a week and smash it on toast with salt, or into a quick tomato sauce, or mashed potatoes.

cafeteria kale salad:

• 1 head of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• salt and pepper
• 2 handfuls of baby kale leaves
• generous handful of currants
• grated pecorino romano cheese, to taste
• 1/2 and avocado, peeled, pitted, and chopped
• handful of toasted nuts (almonds, cashews, sprouted sunflower seeds are good too)

preparation:

• preheat the oven to 400 degrees. cut the top 1/2" off the head of garlic. place the garlic, and the chopped head into a ramekin and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. cover the ramekin with foil, pressing it to the cut garlic. roast for 40-45 minutes, until the garlic is soft and browned. let cool completely.
• in the bottom of a big bowl, smash up a clove of roasted garlic with a fork. add lemon juice, salt and pepper to the bowl and whisk everything together. while continuing to whisk, drizzle in the olive oil to emulsify. when it comes together, taste it and see if it needs adjusting. i usually smash another garlic clove into the mix, but it's good to start with 1 until you know how strong they are.
• add the kale leaves, 1/2 the currants, and some cheese to the bowl. mix well to coat all the ingredients with the dressing. plate the salad and add the rest of the currants, a sprinkle of cheese, the avocado and the nuts.

makes 1 salad.