Salsa Verde, with Kale!

When chef Matt McCallister (whose Dallas restaurant, FT33, was one of our 50 Best New Restaurants nominees) suggested combining two of our favorite foods, kale and salsa verde, into one condiment—kale salsa verde—we couldn't resist learning how it's done. Who doesn't have leftover kale? And who doesn't love salsa verde? Exactly.

The idea is straightforward: add some kale to a traditional Italian salsa verde recipe. Unsurprisingly, though, McCallister had a few tricks up his sleeve when he came by the BA test kitchen last week. First, he threw in some pickled sunchokes that he just happened to have left over from a dinner he prepared at New York's James Beard House. (Cornichons serve the same function.) He also used mustard he made himself. (Jarred mustard will do.) Chef-y turns aside, McCallister's kale salsa verde was as easy as boiling a pot of water and turning on a blender.

Over kale? Not this guy. At his restaurant in Dallas, McCallister uses kale juice in his farro risotto. (He even came to the defense of a green that has yet to become "cool": spinach. "Nobody really uses spinach anymore," he said. "I'm trying to treat it a lot more delicately.") Here's the basic process for the kale salsa verde:

Remove the ribs from the kale, then blanche the leaves in boiling salted water until they turn bright green, about 1 minute. Immediate transfer the kale to a bowl of ice water, then wring it out to dry. In a blender, purée 6 chopped cloves of garlic, the juice of 3 lemons, 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, 2 teaspoons spicy mustard, 1 tablespoon salt-packed capers, and 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped shallots. Process until smooth, then add reserved kale along with 1/4 cup parsley and 1 cup grapeseed oil, pushing down with a ladle or spoon. Purée, then slowly drizzle in more oil, as necessary, to emulsify. One tip: "Kale is good at holding its bright green color," says McCallister, but if you're using a high-power blender like a Vitamix, the friction can get too high, causing the sauce to brown. So process as quickly as possible, and if you notice the green color starting to fade, place the purée (still in the glass part of the vessel) in an ice bath to quickly cool it, then continue blending.

(Note: This "recipe" has not been tested by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen, so please think of it as a guideline!)