Italian Kale White Bean Salad Recipe {video}

Lemon Vinaigrette Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil – Use good quality olive oil for richness and lovely peppery notes.
• Lemon – Use fresh lemon; we need both the juice and zest for this recipe.
• White vinegar – This crisp vinegar adds tanginess for balance. You can use white wine vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, or distilled white vinegar here.
• Honey – Honey and lemon go together like peanut butter and jelly. Here they balance each other beautifully. I really like the floral sweetness that honey lends to this dressing. However, if you want to keep this vinaigrette vegan, feel free to use maple syrup instead of honey.
• Dijon mustard – Dijon is a classic ingredient in a lot of salad dressing recipes. Here we add a little bit, which lends a subtle sharp tanginess and contributes to the balanced flavor profile. Dijon also acts as an emulsifier in vinaigrettes and dressings like this, and helps the ingredients blend better and stay blended for a creamy texture without the need for cream.
• Garlic – Fresh garlic adds savory depth to the dressing. As the dressing sits, the flavor of garlic mellows.
• Coarse kosher salt – Salt enhances the flavor of everything else. You can use fine (table) salt instead of coarse kosher salt, just use less.
• Coarsely ground black pepper – Adds a touch of piquant flavor to create balance.

Seasoned Toasted Sourdough Breadcrumbs Ingredients

• Sourdough bread – For this recipe, you’ll need 2 large slices of bread cut in half (about 200 grams total). I only bake a loaf of sourdough about once a month, so I slice my sourdough and I keep the slices in the freezer. When I want to make breadcrumbs, I partially thaw the sourdough slices beforehand because I find that it’s easier to process sourdough in the food processor if it’s still partially frozen. Feel free to use stale sourdough bread (or any kind of bread you like) for this recipe.
• Extra-virgin olive oil – For rich flavor.
• Dried Italian herb seasoning – Adds herby notes, similar to the flavor profile of store-bought Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.
• Garlic powder – For savory depth.
• Salt and black pepper – To make sure the breadcrumbs aren’t bland.

Italian Kale White Bean Salad Ingredients

• Tuscan kale – You’ll also find Tuscan kale called Italian kale, Lacinato kale, dinosaur kale, or black kale. It has a slightly sweeter, less bitter, milder flavor than regular (curly leaf) kale.
• Canned cannellini beans – I used cannellini beans because their mild, subtly nutty flavor and creamy texture is a lovely contrast to the sweet, tangy vinaigrette and crispy homemade sourdough breadcrumb topping. Also, in keeping with the Italian theme, cannellini beans are beloved in Italy! Feel free to use any kind of beans you like here; navy beans, great northern beans, or chickpeas would also be delicious in this salad.
• Canned marinated artichoke hearts – Rinse them well and pat them dry. Look for quartered artichoke hearts, otherwise, roughly chop whole artichoke hearts.
• Red onion – This adds a pop of contrasting color and delicious savory flavor. If you don’t have red onion on hand, white onion will also work well.
• Basil leaves – Aromatic fresh basil adds herby, slightly sweet, subtle peppery flavor.
• Pecorino Toscano cheese – Look for aged Pecorino Toscano cheese, which is a sharp sheep’s milk cheese that will lend salty, umami, nutty notes. If you can’t find it, go for another hard, dry Italian cheese, such as Parmesan, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, or Grana Padano.
• Pine nuts – Pinoli add great texture and nuttiness. To develop their flavor, toast them briefly in a dry skillet on the stovetop and then let them cool.