BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

The Classic All Day Raw Kale Salad

January 1, 2019

From Maria Gonzalez, The Classic All Day

Ingredients:

Ginger Sesame Dressing:
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
3-4 stalks of green onions, roughly chopped
⅓ cup ginger, peeled and chopped
1 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
¼ cup agave nectar
2-3 Tablespoons sambal, depending on heat preference
¼ cup gluten-free soy sauce
⅔-¾ pound sesame tahini, depending on personal taste

Salad:
6 cups Tuscan kale, chopped
2 Gala apples, thinly sliced
½ cup cashews, toasted and rough chopped
2 cups brussels sprouts, washed and shredded
1 red onion, sliced thin and soaked in ice water
3 Tablespoons white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 cups bean sprouts
2 cups savoy cabbage
4 Persian cucumbers, sliced thin
Handful of Thai basil
Handful of mint
½ cup chopped cilantro

Recipe directions:

In a blender, combine garlic, green onions, ginger, rice vinegar, agave nectar, sambal, soy sauce and tahini. Blend until smooth. Set Ginger Sesame Dressing aside and store in refrigerator until ready to use. Dressing can be made in advance. Leftover dressing can be stored in airtight container for 5-7 days.

To make salad, toss kale, apples, cashews, brussels sprouts, onions, sesame seeds, bean sprouts, cabbage, cucumber, basil, mint and cilantro with Ginger Sesame Dressing. Add as little or as much of the dressing as you like. Toss salad to coat vegetables evenly with dressing. Serves 4-6.

Chef’s notes: Ingredients for dressing can be combined using a hand blender or blender. For the dressing, chef Maria Gonzalez wanted to take a different approach and not use any oil. Instead, tahini provides fat and flavor. With this salad, you get plenty of texture without the adding calories, so you can use any raw vegetable you like, and you can shave it, chopped or shredded the vegetables. The more crunch the better, and adding different herbs change the flavor profile. Enjoy!

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