The Kale Variety Alton Brown Swears By For Salad

Kale inspires some pretty strong reactions in people, but if there is one person who will figure it out for the lingering skeptics, it's Alton Brown. The Food Network star and longtime host of "Good Eats," Brown is known for his devotion to evidence and science-based experimentation in finding the best ways to make a meal. So when you are looking for a kale salad recipe, you don't have to try every possible type of kale. Instead, you can simply follow his lead and trust his research.

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It's not about what's trendy or looks good; it's about what tastes best. And for people who don't normally like kale recipes, and even people who do, you should know Brown's pick is not the normal curly kale we assume. Instead, as he revealed with his recipe for Not Just Another Kale Salad, Brown prefers Tuscan kale.

Tuscan kale, which is sometimes called dinosaur kale, looks quite different from its relative. Instead of the brighter-colored curly frills, it's a darker green with large flat leaves, almost like Swiss chard. While it's not quite as common as curly kale, it's popular enough that many grocery stores now carry it, so it shouldn't be too hard to take Brown's advice. Like curly kale, it's a robust green, related to cabbage, and holds up well to dressings. But unlike its famously tough and bitter counterpart, it's more pleasant to eat raw without the need for preparation like massaging in dressing.

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Why choose Tuscan kale for your salads?

There are a few things that make Tuscan kale better in a salad. The first is texture. Unless it's prepared properly, curly kale can be quite chewy with a fibrous texture that takes some work to break down. Tuscan kale is more tender than curly, so it's a more pleasant eating experience. It also has a less bitter flavor. It's still quite hearty and earthy, which is what you want from kale, but its milder flavor is easier to work with and won't turn off as many eaters as curly kale. It won't take the place of curly kale in every recipe, but as a salad green, the combination of less pungent flavor and crisper texture makes it much more versatile, without losing the genuine appeal of kale.

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Brown lets Tuscan kale shine in his recipe by pairing it with a lemony anchovy dressing and parsley, shallot, crunchy chickpeas, and feta, which allows its rustic flavor to balance out brighter tastes. But outside of recipes that rely on a heavy dressing to wilt the leaves, Tuscan kale can be subbed in for curly kale. It also works in quite a few of its own Tuscan kale salads. It's especially better in lighter salads where you are relying less on additions and more on the flavor of the greens themselves. After all, would Alton Brown lie to you?

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