Caesar-style salad of baby kale, spring herbs and flowers with pecorino crisps

Kale leaves are robust enough to carry a strong dressing. I would use baby or young kale as it is more tender, but larger leaves can be de-stalked and shredded finely. To make this a truly vegetarian option, replace the anchovies with four chopped black olives and use a vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese. It makes a wonderful side dish if as part of a pretty Mother's Day menu.

Ingredients

For the crisps

1 cup pecorino cheese, finely grated

⅔ cup pecans, chopped

Freshly ground pepper

For the dressing

3 tbsp milk

2 anchovy fllets

½ garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 egg yolk

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste

1 scant tsp Dijon mustard

For the salad

6-7 packed cups baby kale leaves, tough stems removed

Handful of chervil, chopped

Handful of basil leaves, torn

Handful of edible flowers, such as pea flowers, violas, cornflowers, chive flowers

The Homes & Gardens method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F, gas mark 5. Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper and use half the pecorino to make little piles of grated cheese, about 3cm in diameter and half a centimetre thick, leaving a good space between each. Place a couple of pecan pieces on each one, reserving half of the pecans, and season with black pepper. Bake for 5-7 minutes, until the cheese has melted into a lacy disc and is beginning to turn golden at the edges. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper. These crisps can be made up to four days in advance and kept in an airtight container in a cool place.

2. Put the milk in a small bowl and add the anchovy fillets. Set aside for 10 minutes to make the anchovies less salty, then drain and discard the milk.

3. Crush the anchovy and garlic to a paste in a pestle and mortar. Stir in the egg yolk, gradually adding the oil as you continue to mix. Stir in the lemon juice and mustard with 2 tablespoons of water. Season generously with black pepper.

4. Put the kale leaves in a bowl and pour two-thirds of the dressing over. Using your hands or salad servers, mix the kale and dressing, being quite vigorous as this tenderises the kale. Set aside for a few minutes then toss with the herbs and the remaining pecorino and pecans. Scatter with the flowers and crumble the pecorino crisps over to finish.

We love this twist on a classic Caesar salad with crunchy kale and edible flowers. It makes a wonderful side to these crab, broad bean, tomato and marigold tarts as a light lunch option, too.