Red (Purple) Salad

Having been inspired by Jo Robinson’s book, in which we learned that purple vegetables are great for you, I have been compulsively buying purple/red vegetables when they look good at the super market or, even better, at the local farmers’ market on the weekends.  Last night, I made a refreshing and summery salad from red cabbage, red kale, red onions, basil and toasted pecans dressed in a lemon tahini dressing.  The recipe yields quite a lot of salad, but trust me, you will eat it, it is so light and delicious!  The salad will keep for a day or two in an airtight container.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 red cabbage, julienned
• 1 bunch of red kale, chiffonade
• 2 small red onions, finely sliced
• 1 cup whole pecans — toasted then chopped (or broken up by hand, which I prefer)
• 1 cup basil, julienned

Dressing: Mix all the ingredients below — adjust seasoning as desired.

• 2 lemons, juiced
• 3 tbsp tahini
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup water (more water if the dressing needs to be thinned out more)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne

Toast the pecans in a non-stick pan on medium low heat, moving the pecans around frequently to make sure they don’t burn.  Once the pecans to begin to brown (about 6-7 minutes), set aside and let cool.  Once cooled, chop them up or break them up by hand into smaller pieces.

Julienne, chiffonade and slice the vegetables as listed in the infredients.  I like to julienne/finely chop cabbage and kale by hand, but you can also use a food processor to shred the vegetables.

Red cabbage

Red kale

Because there was a lot of vegetables to mix together, I tossed everything in a large roasting pan by hand (I find it easier than trying to do so in a salad bowl).

Once the salad components are well blended, add the dressing.  Gently mix the salad together.  Transfer into a salad bowl.

Enjoy!

Tags: cabbage, kale, raw, salad