Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds

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Kale Salad with Smoked Almonds

Adapted from Milk Street Magazine

Serves 6

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

5 T sherry vinegar

kosher salt

2 T honey

8 T extra-virgin olive oil, divided

ground black pepper

1 c smoked almonds

4 oz. chewy white or wheat bread, cut into 1-in cubes

2 teas fresh thyme leaves

1 T sweet paprika

2 bunches lacinato kale, stemmed, washed, spun dry and thinly sliced crosswise (10 c)

1 c fresh mint leaves, chopped

In a pint mason jar or a small bowl place the sliced shallots, vinegar and 1/2 teas salt. Let rest for 10 minutes. Add the honey, 5 T of the olive oil. Shake it in the jar or whisk all ingredients in a bowl.

Chop the almonds in a food processor until coarse, about 8 pulses and move to a large bowl.

Place the bread cubes in the processor bowl and run about 20 seconds until they are in coarse crumbs. Add the thyme, the remaining 3 T oil, paprika, half teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper. Process about 10 seconds until all is incorporated. Pour the crumb mixture into a large skillet over medium heat and cook until browned and crisped, stirring often. Place on a plate or quarter sheet pan to cool.

Put the kale and mint into the bowl with the almonds and massage the greens. It will take about 10-20 seconds to get it to a softer, darker texture. Pour the dressing and crumbs over and toss to combine. Taste and season if necessary.

Note:   Smoked almonds are usually quite salty. Next time I'm going to use plain roasted almonds and substitute Spanish smoked paprika, to achieve a smoky flavor with less salt. I'll report how that works.