 |
| Photo of Birdy and kale by Douglas Merriam, courtesy of FamilyFun (where I published almost exactly this recipe but without the breadcrumbs. I'm sorry FamilyFun! I wasn't holding out on you! I just hadn't seen the light). |
Things are breaking up a little here, straining at theseams. In the Venn diagram, the circle of my happy, beautiful life isoverlapping exactly with the circle of my thrumming fretfulness. It’s lilacsand lilies of the valley and violets, purple-scented perfume breathing into ourwindows where I lie with my beloved partner, where our thriving children sleepwith the rosy blossoms of their faces tipped up into the moonlight. And also myoldest friend has been ill, my heart’s companion of 41 years, and this illness is thehazy double of all the rest of it, the ghost outline of every dogwood tree andMother’s Day card and meal and thought. I don’t really know how to write aboutit, except to say that sometimes I feel like I’m living multiple simultaneouslives. It’s not that I don’t love baked beans and great novels and spring andkids, because I do, and this is really my real and happy daily-ness (as it ishers). And also there’s this other thing that I can’t write about, and that isn’treally mine for the telling, that is the dark side of this blog’s moon, if youknow what I mean. Also, because she will get better, it seems silly to burdenyou.
 |
| I took this one myself just yesterday! |
Anyways. I don’t know why I mention this now, except that Isighed a little existentially as I was uploading this recipe (Kale? So what.).Even though this is possibly the single best recipe I have ever shared, soplease, please don’t let my sighing angst deter you from making and loving it,which you should and will! And you’re like, Haven’tI already made your kale slaw before? Thatone with the lemon? Or that one with the walnuts? And you have, and thosewere great, they were. But this one is better. This is the new and improved one (Now withnew sudsers that actually gets your clothes clean!) that forces me toconfess that the others must have been ever-so-slightly imperfect, because ofthe perfectness.
 |
| I posted, and then deleted, the one with Michael's parmesan-grating middle finger fully extended. I am not currently entirely confident about my sense of humor. |
The Ultimate Kale Salad
Makes 1 large bowlful
Total time: 15 minutes
This is, currently, my most-requested recipe. I don’t mean to beimmodest, but the number of people here for dinner who tentatively hold theirplates out, “Oh, just a little for me,” and make the ew-kale face—and then returnfor an unseemly amount of seconds? Well, it’s a big number. Raw kale salad is,simply, the greenest-tasting thing I know, and it converts everyone who thinksthey don’t like kale, because they’re thinking steamed and stinky, and are thenshocked and delighted to be served a bright, fresh tangle of salad.
Also, I’m usually flexible, I know, but I have lots of picky notes hereabout trying to follow the recipe as written. There is something so utterlybalanced about this, with the rich, salty cheese and the crunchy breadcrumbsagainst the tangy, garlicky greens. You’ll see. Also, this doubles well—so youshould double it. (As shown in the photos below, where I am making lots.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup fresh (or frozen) breadcrumbs (Note: if you don’t have any, justput a slice or two of any kind of bread in the blender! But maybe don’t use the dustycardboard-scented kind from a cardboard can, which will not be tasty here.)
1 healthy bunch of very fresh kale (ideally the lacinato or dinosaurvariety, which is sweeter and has a better texture here, but any kind is good)
¼ cup olive oil
1 to 2 large cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled, and finely minced or putthrough a garlic press
2 tablespoons sherry VINEGAR (Not cream sherry, not cooking sherry.Balsamic or white-wine vinegar makes a good, but not ideal, substitute.)
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
Heat the 1 tablespoon of oil in a smallish pan over medium heat and fry the breadcrumbs,stirring some, and then later more, until they are very brown and toasty, whichwill take longer than you might imagine (5 or so minutes). Set them aside in abowl so that they don’t burn in the still-hot pan.
Wash and dry the kale. Now strip the ruffly leaves off thekale's stems by grasping the bottom of each stem and pulling your hand up it forcefully. Discard the stems. Stack and bunch the leaves together, then use alarge, very sharp knife to sliver them as fine as you can. Put the sliveredkale in a large bowl. (Any thoughts on the stems? I’m starting to think it’ssilly to compost them and that I should either a) not bother stripping theleaves or b) find a great kale-stem recipe.)
Now, in a tiny pan, heat the oil over medium heat and frythe garlic in it until fragrant and just on the verge of coloring (which youwill need to intuit, given that it won’t have colored yet!). Add the salt andvinegar, and stir for another minute as the vinegar sizzles furiously and thewhole thing foams and becomes outrageously fragrant. Pour half the hot dressingover the kale and toss very thoroughly with a pair of tongs. Then get in therewith your hands and massage it until the leaves are glossy and dark. Now taste it, and add more dressing as needed. Stirin the cheese and breadcrumbs, taste for salt and vinegar, and serve.
