"Like anyone who has ever tried it, I'd fallen in love with the Caesar-like kale salad at Barbuto in New York's West Village. I tried replicating it with my winning Caesar salad dressing, but it just wasn't the same. Something about the texture. I lightened up the dressing. I massaged the kale with the dressing. I massaged it with lemon juice and salt and let it sit before adding the dressing. Nothing worked."
"Tuscan cousin - Tuscan kale (also called lacinato kale, black kale, cavolo nero and dinosaur kale). But once I tried the curly kale, I understood: Those curls, when sliced, are what allow the kale not to fall into a dense pile. Instead, like Easter basket grass, the curly kale, even when dressed, has volume; there is light and air between the strands, giving a necessary levity to the sturdy and intensely flavored leaves."
Curly kale's tightly curled leaves create volume and prevent the greens from collapsing into a dense pile when sliced and dressed. Flatter Tuscan varieties compact and lack the airy spaces between strands. Tenderizing kale requires vigorous squeezing of dressing into the leaves to break down cell walls rather than a gentle rub. Lightening the dressing alone does not produce the same ethereal texture. The curls act like Easter basket grass, preserving light and air and providing levity to intensely flavored, sturdy leaves. Using curly kale and applying dressing forcefully yields a lighter, more delicate kale salad texture.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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