Copycat Frankie’s 570 Lemon Pecorino Kale Salad
R.I.P. In Peace, Frankie’s 570 Spuntino. If you live in New York and you’re not familiar with the restaurant dynasty created by The Franks (Frank Falcinelli and Frank Castronovo—very Irish, I know), my heart breaks for you, and you should put their three Carroll Gardens locations at the tippity-top of your post-quarantine social interaction binge list. As I previously mentioned, there was a death in the group. Frankie’s 570 Spuntino, perched on the perfect lil’ corner of Hudson and 11th street—their only Manhattan location, unexpectedly closed in September of 2019. While The Franks are silent partners in Anton’s, the boujee, “old New York” restaurant that replaced Frankie’s 570, the new spot couldn’t feel less like the rustic, candlelit, untainted-with-tourists haven it once was. The food at Anton’s is awesome—don’t get me wrong—but it’s an entirely different menu and, oh yeah, I can never get in because, as I said, it’s boujee now.
There are a bunch of things I miss from Frankie’s 570: the Artichoke, Lemon and Parmesan Crostini, the Cavatelli with Hot Sausage and Brown Butter Sage, the Eggplant Marinara (okay, my mouth is officially watering)—but there is one item I crave more than anything else: their lemony, peppery, cheesy kale salad.
While my mom has been perfecting the Frankie’s 570 Hot Sausage Cavatelli for months, I have been working on my kale salad recipe. I made a few adjustments; for example, I chose to use crispy chickpeas instead of toasty, fresh breadcrumbs for texture—but if the breadcrumbs are calling your name, I say go for it! This salad is great for any time of year: it’s light, refreshing, and filling from the kale and chickpeas. I hope you fall in love like I did.
Ingredients:
For the crispy chickpeas:
1 15 oz. can Garbanzo beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
For the salad:
1 16 oz. bag of pre-cut kale (or if you want to get fancy: 1 Lacinato Tuscan kale)
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Parmigiano Reggiano wedge (to grate on top)
Preparation:
Crispy Baked Chickpeas:
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Strain the can of chickpeas (no need to rinse) and toss them in a medium sized bowl with the olive oil, salt and garlic powder.
Spread the chickpeas out on the baking sheet and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until golden and crispy.
Lemon Pecorino Kale Salad:
If you are like me, lazy, and you bought the bag of pre-cut kale, go through the bag, break up the kale leaves into smaller pieces and place them in your go-to salad bowl. BEWARE NASTY KALE STEMS! If you happened to spot a Lacinato Tuscan kale at your local Morton Williams—more power to you. With the Tuscan kale, it works best to roll the long kale leaves into a cylinder and thinly slice them into small strips.
Now, the lemony, cheesy, peppery dressing: in a small bowl combine the olive oil, finely grated Pecorino Romano, lemon juice, black pepper, red pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Whisk together until well combined.
Pour the dressing over the kale and really massage it in there (…just toss aggressively for a few minutes).
Mix about 3/4 of the crispy chickpeas into the salad, as well.
Sprinkle the remaining crispy chickpeas on top and grate some fresh Parmigiano Reggiano, as the finisher.
Voilà! Of course, play around with it—add some roasted sweet potatoes or grilled chicken, if you’d like. This is a great salad base, and I am definitely going to be eating it all summer long.
