My office recently moved to from midtown to downtown Manhattan, and I’ve been having a lot of fun exploring the neighborhood. One day my foodie friend and I were wandering around TriBeCa looking for a place to have lunch. We passed by a spot called Tiny’s, located in a 3-story pink townhouse built in 1810 – and she said “Hey! I hear their kale salad is famous.” Sold! We happily ordered it, while enjoying Tiny’s decor, which includes exposed brick walls, original tin-tile ceilings and a Masonic-themed copper-and-marble bar. The salad was crunchy, delicious, and refreshing on a super-hot day, with slightly mustardy, slightly gingery dressing, and an umami accent from the aged gouda grated over the top. Since we both love to cook, we kept puzzling over what might be in the dressing and whether there was a way to recreate the goodness at home. Luckily, she found a take on it by The Bari Studio (they must be as obsessed with this salad as we are!), so I used their recipe as my starting point. But don’t worry, Tiny’s, we’ll definitely be back for your original version!
If you’ve got a sharp eye, you’ll notice I actually made my salad with some kale (it looks darker green in the photo) and some regular lettuce (lighter green, larger pieces). That’s because the bunch of kale I received from our CSA (community-supported agriculture) box was kind of small for two people, but I also received a large bunch of green lettuce! So feel free to make this with whatever salad greens you like. I doubled the dressing since I had a ton of greens, but I’m giving the original proportions here.
- 1 large bunch organic kale, preferably lacinto, stems removed and chiffonaded (thinly sliced) OR small bunch of kale plus other salad greens
- 1 apple, such as Gala or Honeycrisp, peeled and diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated (I used a Microplane but next time I might grate it a little larger on a box grater)
- 2 T. olive oil (The Bari Studio uses walnut oil, but I didn't have any)
- 2 T. apple cider vinegar
- 2 T. pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp. tamari or soy sauce
- 1 T. coarse-grain mustard, such as country Dijon
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- ¼ c. grated aged Gouda or Gruyere
- ½ c. toasted walnuts (start with raw and toast them in a small sauté pan over high heat for a couple of minutes)
- Sea salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Make dressing: In cup of smoothie maker, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, tamari or soy sauce, mustard, and ginger, and pulse until completely blended. Taste and season with salt & pepper if needed (but keep in mind the tamari is already salty).
- Make salad: Place kale in salad bowl and pour a little bit of dressing over it. Massage the dressing into the kale with your hands (this helps the kale to become soft and absorb some of the dressing). If you are using other salad greens, add them afterwards (they don't get to be massaged, poor things). Add the carrot and apple. Season lightly with salt & pepper.
- Finish salad: Pour the rest of the dressing over the salad and toss. Top with toasted walnuts and grated gruyere. We also topped ours with two poached eggs each to make a hearty dinner salad. Enjoy!
Finally made this! So yummy!
Oh yum, yum, yum… Oh, wait, I ate three servings of this… Nom, nom, nom… Thanks darling!