Winter Kale + Crispy Pancetta Salad with Bleu Cheese Toasts

Think of this salad as an update on the classic spinach salad. Where spinach is replaced with kale, bacon is swapped out for pancetta and the dressing is made from the pancetta fat.

Course Salads

Cuisine American

Keyword bleu cheese, easy, hard boiled eggs, kale, pancetta, salad

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 12

Total Time 42

Servings servings

Calories 522

Author Laurie McNamara

Ingredients

12 ounces baguette sliced on an angle or 12 slices
olive oil for brushing
2 ounces bleu cheese I used Roquefort
4 tablespoons salted butter softened
2 bunches kale washed and patted dry and chopped (about 8 cups)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 a medium red onion sliced vertically
8 ounces pancetta diced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard I use country Dijon
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
6 hard boiled eggs qartered

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°.
In a bowl combine the butter and bleu cheese with a fork. Slice the baguette on a slight angle into 12 slices, brush with olive oil and slide into the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool a bit before spreading each slice with the bleu cheese butter. Set off to the side for a moment to prep the salad.
Thoroughly wash the kale leaves before stripping the leaves off the stem and giving them a good chop. Discard the stems.
Toss the kale leaves with 2 teaspoons olive oil and a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice, massage the leaves to get them coated well, set aside.
Toss the kale with the red onions.
Use oven mitts to move the oven rack to its highest position and switch on the broiler.
Dice pancetta into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes. Place into a skillet and heat on medium-low, cook until crispy and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Drain off the pancetta fat into a heat safe bowl, transferring 3 tablespoons back into skillet. Whisk in the mustard and sugar into the hot grease, pour in the vinegar and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Immediately pour over kale and toss to coat.
Slide toasts underneath the broiler for 30 seconds to a minute or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the toast edges are golden. Remove from oven.
Serve salad on plates, top with crispy pancetta and serve alongside quartered hard boiled eggs and bleu cheese toasts. Season salad with more black pepper if desired.

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