Though ubiquitous, kale is too rarely delicious – until now.

If you don’t yet love kale, it’s not your fault. And you are not alone. But there is hope.

Though kale has been eaten in Europe for more than 2,000 years, and was brought to what is now America by English settlers in the 17th Century, they seemingly forgot what to do with it. (The consumption of kale in Scotland had become so widespread around that time that “kail” had become synonymous with food, and to be “off one’s kail” meant one didn’t feel well enough to eat.)

It’s also possible that they never knew what to do with it, aside from stewing it with meat and potatoes, which is how it was commonly eaten. Though kale had become a nutritious staple, it was considered peasant food, and also used to feed livestock.

That is perhaps why – over the decades, then centuries – kale faded away, disappearing from American kitchens before ever leaving so much as a mark on our culinary memory.

Fast forward a few centuries or more, and not only has kale made a comeback in this country, it has become inescapable, and, some might argue, indispensable.

Yet in my experience, most people still don’t know how to properly eat the so-called superfood, as evidenced by pre-chopped salad mixes – many if not most of which come from the Salinas Valley – that feature chopped kale with their spears still attached. (Pro tip: There is no good reason to eat kale spears, and if you do, you’re doing it wrong, but again, it’s not your fault. Use the them in stock, or compost them.)

I was introduced to kale around 2007, while reading an article about “superfoods.” Kale was ranked number one. I encountered it not long after – and realized I’d seen it before – at Monterey Market in Berkeley. I picked up a bunch, with no idea what to do with it.

Over the next several years, as I began seeing it everywhere – farmers markets, Whole Foods and eventually Safeway – I continued to buy it, and continued to fail in making it delicious. I could craft kale dishes that tasted good, even very good, but never great. The same goes for kale I’d order in restaurants. It seemed no one had yet cracked the code.

That changed in 2013, the year I finally fell in love with kale.

It happened at Trick Dog, a newly-opened bar/restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission District that is now considered one of the top 100 restaurants in the greater Bay Area, according to San Francisco Chronicle food editor Michael Bauer, who curates the annual list. For around 10 bucks, my table was served a heaping kale salad large enough to fill three bellies, and that titillated every taste bud. The sturdy, well-massaged leaves were lightly coated with a tangy, creamy egg yolk dressing, and bites were made even creamier by generous chunks of avocado. Toasted pumpkin seeds added a welcome crunch.

I didn’t ask my server for the recipe at the time, but I later resolved to recreate it at home. I failed, and failed again and again. Over time, it became an obsession, though I ended up making wholesale changes due to supplies in my kitchen – subbing toasted almonds for pumpkin seeds, doing without the egg yolk in the dressing, adding shallot – but the results continued to disappoint, and the problem was acid. Which vinegar should I use? I tried sherry, white wine, red wine, but the salads still lacked a certain je ne sais quois. Lemon juice didn’t fare any better. On a whim I tried seasoned rice vinegar, and fell in love all over again.

Kale salad is now my go-to recipe when entertaining guests, and while I’m not normally one for boasting about my culinary prowess – because there’s a profound lack thereof – this is the best one I’ve tasted. I confirmed this at Trick Dog this year when I ordered another.

I now like mine better. Enjoy.

Fall in Love with Kale Salad

(serves 2 as a light entree, 3 as a side)

1 bunch kale (curly or dino are best)

1 ripe avocado, sliced into small chunks

1 large shallot (about 1/4 cup), finely diced

1 large handful of unsalted almonds, toasted, cooled and then chopped

1/3 cup of finely grated Parmesan

2-3 tablespoon olive oil

1.5-2.5 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar (seasoned is key!!!)

salt, and a little pepper to taste

Step 1 – Dressing

It’s important to start with the dressing, to let the flavors meld and allow the bite of the shallot to mellow.

Finely dice the shallot and toss it in a bowl you’d use to eat cereal. Add the seasoned rice vinegar, olive oil and a pinch of salt, then stir. Grate the Parmesan, the finer the better, then add to bowl. Add another pinch of salt, a grind of pepper, stir, and let it sit after patting down the ingredients level. Taste.

I always ballpark the oil and vinegar portions – and it’s key to have more oil than vinegar – but keep adding some of both until the patted down shallot is submerged. Keep tasting as you add to ensure it stays balanced.

Step 2 – Kale

Pull out a large salad bowl. Rinse the kale, shake or spin it as dry as you can then strip the leaves from their spears with your hands. As you do this, tear the kale into bite-sized pieces and toss them in the bowl. Add a pinch of salt to the leaves in the bowl, along with a very small dash of the vinegar. This will help break down the cell walls of the leaves and make them easier to chew and more digestible.

Massage the kale as you would someone’s shoulders, for the same reasons mentioned above, for about five minutes. Put some muscle into it, get it as soft you as can.

Satisfied with the softness, take a small taste of the dressing, and judiciously add more olive oil or vinegar if necessary, but be careful about adding too much vinegar, an easy mistake to make and a hard one to fix. Add salt and a little pepper. Stir.

Step 3 – Almonds and avos

Put either raw or pre-roasted unsalted almonds in a toaster oven or on a skillet and begin toasting. Both kinds of almonds work fine, but pre-roasted go much quicker, and in either case, be mindful: Nuts burn quickly.

Slice up the avocado and throw the chunks in the salad bowl.

Check on almonds, and when done, set aside to cool until they can be handled, and have regained their crunch. Chop them, in half is fine.

Step 4 – Toss like a boss

Toss everything together in the bowl, while trying to keep all the goodies from collecting at the bottom. Taste again for salt, as well as acidity – if there’s still too little vinegar to your taste, add a dash or two, and if necessary, more Parmesan and olive oil.

Serve up, fall in love.

(Note: Once you get the hang of where your sweet spot is, this is an easy recipe to ballpark without measurements. Depending on your appetite or taste, you can easily go more or less on avocado, almonds or Parmesan. These are bones, make it your own.)