Winter Caesar salad with kale and hazelnuts

Winter Caesar salad with kale, celery root, hazelnuts, and homemade croutons.

5 from 3 votes

Winter Caesar salad with kale and hazelnuts

A winter version of a Caesar salad that swaps in kale and other seasonal ingredients.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Optional chicken breast15

Total Time30

Servings: side salads

Calories: 318kcal

Ingredients

Salad

1 bunch kale any variety
1 celery root aka celeriac
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar for tossing on celery root
1 tablespoon honey for tossing on celery root
¼ cup chopped hazelnuts or walnuts
¼ cup Parmesan cheese 1 ounce, grated

Croutons

1 large chunk hearty bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Caesar dressing

1 clove garlic
1 lemon
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil

Optional: chicken & Breading

½ lb chicken breast
½ cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

Prepare salad

Kale: Cut out stems of kale and slice into bite-size pieces.
Parmesan: Use the microplane to grate the Parmesan. Set half aside for the dressing, and half for topping the salad.
Garlic & lemon: Peel garlic and grate it on a microplane to make a paste. Then zest the lemon, then cut it into quarters.
Celery root: Peel and cut celeriac into matchstick pieces, then put it in a bowl with the vinegar and honey (to keep it from turning brown, and add a little flavor).

Make Caesar dressing & massage kale

Combine the grated garlic, mayo, lemon zest, juice from the lemons, and half of the Parmesan cheese in a bowl (or mason jar).
Whisk in 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or shake the jar). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place kale in a bowl and pour half of the dressing over the leaves. Massage for 30-60 seconds with your hands to soften the leaves.

Make the croutons

Cut or tear the bread into crouton-sized pieces (or roughly break it apart). Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put them under the broiler for a few minutes, until crispy (or toast in a toaster oven).
Set a timer for 2 minutes - they can burn fast under a broiler. A toaster oven is more foolproof if you have one.

Toast nuts

Toss the nuts in a dry pan (if making chicken, use a skillet large enough for the chicken). Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Set a timer for 3 minutes to check on them (they can burn fast). If they aren't done, set the timer for 1 more minute at a time, until they are done.

Optional: make the chicken

Pour the breadcrumbs onto a large plate.
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Season with salt.
Toss half of the pieces into the bread crumb-mixture and toss to coat. Set aside and repeat with remaining chicken.
This version skips the typical milk-egg-flour process. The mixture sticks well enough for a quick pan-fry meal that the time saved is worth it.
Place 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and heat it on medium-high.
Add the chicken to the hot oil (if it isn't very hot, the breading will soak it up instead of frying). Cook until browned and no longer pink, turning occasionally.

Combine & Serve

Add in the celeriac, hazelnuts, and remaining cheese to the dressed-kale. Add remaining dressing and combine. Top with chicken and croutons. Enjoy your winter Caesar salad!

Notes

How to peel celery root: cut the very bottom off so you have a flat surface. The use a knife to remove the outside layer (like removing the outside of a pineapple). Once it's all removed, slice into matchstick sized pieces. It has a fresh crunch when raw, with a subtle potato-celery flavor.

Serving size & nutrition

This salad makes 4 good-sized side salads without the chicken, which is how nutrition is calculated below. Here are some other adjustments:

2 very large salads: 586 calories each
2 meal-sized salads with chicken: 880 calories each (chicken, breadcrumbs, and oil add 250 calories per serving)

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Nutrition