I can write like this:
If you've ever paired beans with greens, you know that it's not only poetic but also smart. Together, they're inarguably good for us, and are easily made delicious in all kinds of friendly guises -- soups, stews, curries, salads -- so they're embraced by everyone from vegans to gluten-avoiders to people like me who eat Shake Shack on the way home from the gym. Beans and greens is the all-level yoga of dinners.
But what you may not yet know is that you can pan-fry your beans (and greens) like Heidi Swanson at 101 Cookbooks, and they'll be even better; that when you slip beans into hot oil for a few minutes, their skin ripples and blisters and browns. As Swanson wrote to me, "You get the extra good crust in an old cast iron skillet." (She followed this with a fist bump emoji and a winky face, and now we have another reason to love Heidi Swanson.)
Serves 2 to 4
1/2 bunch (6 ounces / 170 grams) dinosaur or lacinato kale, stems removed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 to 3 big handfuls of cooked large white beans (like corona, lima, or gigante beans)
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces / 45 grams) walnuts, lightly toasted and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Scant 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup (1/2 ounce / 15 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)