Deb’s Kale Salad with Apple, Cranberries and Pecans

Thanksgiving week 2019. Fifth Thanksgiving in the Martin house. I drove to Prattville Wednesday afternoon and stayed through Sunday. Gloria is sixty-nine now and James is seventy-two and both of them are here and well and at the table and I am not taking any of this for granted.

I cooked most of the meal this year. The dressing, now fully mine. The sweet potato casserole with the bourbon glaze. The cranberry sauce. The rolls, which I have been making since Easter of 2017. James handled the turkey with his brine as always, standing at the counter for the full twenty minutes, moving more slowly than he used to but not stopping. Gloria made her sweet potato pie and her pecan pie and I made the bread pudding for dessert, which she taught me years ago and which comes out perfectly every time now.

James said grace at the table and this year he said: we thank you for this table and for the hands that prepared it. He looked at me when he said it. I looked at my hands in my lap and breathed through the feeling of five years of Sundays arriving at once.

Lily at the daycare had a Thanksgiving show for the parents this week. She wore a paper feather headdress and sang part of a song. She looked at me from the stage, found me in the crowd, and waved. I waved back. She has decided I am real and present and worth a wave. That is enough. That is more than enough.

That Thursday table in Prattville had everything it needed — the turkey, the dressing, the pies — but what I keep coming back to, in the quiet after, is how the freshness of something like this salad cuts right through all that richness and reminds you to slow down and taste it. Deb’s kale salad has been in my rotation since before I had a Thanksgiving to belong to, and now it travels with me every year. The cranberries are already there, the pecans are already there, the apples bring the sweetness you don’t know you need until it’s in front of you — it is, in its own quiet way, a dish that says: this table has everything.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 large bunch curly or lacinato kale (about 10 oz), stems removed, leaves thinly sliced
2 medium crisp apples (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), cored and diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecan halves, toasted
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Massage the kale. Place the sliced kale in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Use your hands to massage the leaves firmly for 1 to 2 minutes, until they soften slightly and turn a deeper green.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper until well combined.
Toast the pecans. If not already toasted, spread pecans in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
Assemble the salad. Add the diced apple, dried cranberries, red onion, and feta to the bowl of massaged kale. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well to coat every leaf.
Top and serve. Scatter the toasted pecans over the top just before serving so they stay crisp. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or a small drizzle of honey as needed.

Nutrition (per serving)

Deb’s Kale Salad with Apple, Cranberries and Pecans — The Side Dish That Belongs at Every Grateful Table