I've got nothing against a traditional caesar salad, but sometimes a classic is due for a little shaking up. Sometimes that means giving the romaine leaves a nice char on the grill [1] or drizzling the pungent dressing over a pile of asparagus ribbons [2]; or, in this case, swapping toothsome, slightly bitter kale for the romaine. Kale may lack romaine's crisp crunch, but it won me over for a different reason: it adds a bit of bite to the dish and it holds up well, meaning that it can be dressed ahead of time and brought to work for lunch (add the croutons right before eating).