My Favorite Kale Salad -- Learning Patience with Greens, One Leaf at a Time

December. The pine candle is doing its best but it smells like a car air freshener, not a Christmas tree. I lit it Monday night and sat on the couch and tried to feel festive and felt mostly like a person sitting on a couch smelling a candle. But I lit it again Tuesday, and Wednesday, and by Thursday it had become a habit, which is close enough to a tradition for someone who's never had one.

The daycare is doing a holiday craft week. Glitter everywhere. In the carpet, in the cracks of the tiny chairs, in Mia's hair, in my hair, in hair I didn't know I had. Thomas ate a piece of green construction paper and looked me dead in the eye while doing it like he was making a point. Caleb glued a cotton ball to his own forehead and wore it home. His mother sent me a photo of him at dinner still wearing it. These children are unhinged and I love every one of them. We made ornaments out of salt dough — flour, salt, water, bake at two hundred degrees. Simple. The toddlers smashed the dough with their fists and called it art. I made a star and poked a hole in the top for a ribbon and took it home and hung it on the doorknob of my apartment because I don't have a tree to put it on. A star on a doorknob. It's something.

Saturday I went to Gloria's to plan Christmas dinner. She pulled out her menu like she was briefing a general: turkey, ham, dressing, greens, mac and cheese, sweet potato casserole, rolls, banana pudding, pecan pie. I asked what I could bring and she said, "Yourself and an appetite." I said I wanted to help cook. She looked at me over her glasses and said, "Baby, you're cooking the greens. I'm trusting you with the greens." The greens. After my bitter, impatient disaster last month. She's giving me a second chance because Gloria Martin has never once believed that a first failure is a final answer.

I bought a bunch of collard greens on the way home and a ham hock from the grocery store and I'm going to practice. I'm going to cook them low and slow and I'm not going to get impatient at hour two. I'm going to stand in my apartment kitchen with the pine candle burning and the salt-dough star on the doorknob and I'm going to make greens that are worthy of Gloria's Christmas table. The tradition starts somewhere. Maybe it starts here. Maybe it starts with a girl in a small apartment learning to be patient with the greens and with herself.

Gloria gave me the greens, which means I’m getting comfortable with every leafy green I can find between now and Christmas. This kale salad isn’t the low-and-slow collard greens I’ll be standing over on Christmas morning — but it’s greens, and it’s mine, and massaging the leaves until they soften taught me something about not rushing the process. The lemon vinaigrette is the kind of bright and honest that felt right for a season I’m trying to build from scratch, and the pecan Parmesan on top made it feel just festive enough to justify lighting the pine candle while I made it.

My Favorite Kale Salad {Lemon Vinaigrette + Pecan Parmesan}

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 large bunch curly kale, tough stems removed, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup raw pecans, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional, for a festive note)

Instructions

1. Prep the kale. Strip the kale leaves from their stems and tear into rough, bite-sized pieces. Rinse well, spin or pat dry, and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Make the lemon vinaigrette. In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper until emulsified. Taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Massage the kale. Drizzle about half the vinaigrette over the kale. Using clean hands, massage the leaves firmly for 2 to 3 minutes, working the dressing in until the kale softens, darkens slightly, and reduces in volume. Don’t rush this step — it’s what makes the salad.
4. Make the pecan Parmesan. In a small bowl, toss the chopped pecans with the grated Parmesan until combined. The cheese clings to the pecans and turns the whole mixture into a crumbly, savory topping.
5. Dress and assemble. Add the remaining vinaigrette to the massaged kale and toss to coat. Transfer to a serving platter or bowl, scatter the pecan Parmesan generously over the top, and add dried cranberries if using.
6. Serve. This salad holds up well — the massaged kale won’t wilt the way tender greens do, so leftovers keep nicely in the fridge for up to two days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 290 | Protein: 7g | Fat: 23g | Carbs: 15g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 210mg