RAW NUTTY KALE SALAD with TOASTED COCONUT, GINGER-JALAPENO-MISO DRESSING
6 portions for starter salad
This salad has many variations as far as what you can add to it. The tangy flavor of the coconut vinegar goes well with the sweetness of the kale. The spicy raw ginger and jalapeno give some healthy heat. Fresh coriander is hard to find, but the taste can be substituted by using a little of the cilantro stem and dry coriander. The toppings can be almost anything you want. I like avocado, roasted butternut squash toasted coconut and seeds (like hemp or pumpkin). Cashew also adds a richer taste and crunchy bite. You can also add cucumber, red bell pepper sprouts or carrot…even pineapple. Below this is a version that is great for a starter or use it as a side to a pork or chicken. To your health!
For Dressing:
½ cup candied ginger
1/3 cup fresh ginger
2 tbsp fresh green coriander (or ½ tsp dried seed and ¼ cup chopped cilantro stem)
¼ cup Philippine natural dark coconut vinegar
1 jalapeno
3 tbsp miso paste (preferably chickpea miso with no soy)
½ cup veganaise
4 limes juiced
Salt
For Salad:
2 Bunches Kale (Lacinato, Green Curly or Red Russian or any leafy green)
¾ cup scallion sliced
1 cup toasted coconut
¼ cup plucked cilantro
½ cup daikon
For Nuts:
2 cups Toasted Cashew
¼ cup muscavado sugar
¼ cup butter or oil
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp toasted ground fennel seed
S+P
Steps
To make the dressing, you must hydrate your candied ginger with hot water. Cover and let stand for at least 45 minutes. Once soft, drain off water and place ginger, fresh ginger, jalapeno, lime juice, vinegar, miso, coriander and salt into a blender. Emulsify. Pour into bowl and whisk in Mayo to thicken and refrigerate. .
To prepare the salad, remove stems from greens (discard) and wash and dry greens. The greens can be rolled and cut with a chiffonad method, or chopped coarsely depending on how thick the leaves are (the thicker the leaf, the finer the chop) once all greens have been cut, place them into a bowl and cover with a damp towel.
In a saucepan, over medium heat melt butter, then add brown sugar and whisk together briskly until solid mass forms. Add Salt, and then add pre-toasted nuts. Stir very swiftly until all the nuts are coated. Sprinkle with fennel seed and mix thoroughly so all nut are coated. The moment they start to stick, add vinegar and deglaze pan. Spread nuts immediately onto parchment paper to cool. They should be lightly coated and crunchy
To Serve
Remove damp towel from kale and pour 1/3 cup of dressing into the bowl. With clean hands (this can be a little messy but it’s worth it), you can lightly mix and massage the dressing into the kale, making sure dressing is evenly distributed amongst all stands and pieces of kale. As you ad more dressing, taste to determine the desired amount you would like, making sure not to make the greens too wet and heavy. This should not take longer then 2-3 minutes. Work swiftly.
Once the kale is “marinated”, you can use tongs to toss in the scallions. Once plated, top the kale with your radish and coconut, nuts and cilantro.