Part of what I like about cooking is the discovery of new ingredients and flavours and figuring out how to use them. I haven’t cooked with kale very often before, but one thing I noticed recently when I made a teriyaki noodle stir fry, is that kale is capable of soaking up a lot of flavour, especially from sauces.
In this salad, chopped kale and shredded cabbage are doused in a simple poppy seed dressing, which imparts both sweetness and tang. Kale is really hardy which means it can hold the dressing for a long time without becoming soggy.
This salad is also a great place to use those leftover fennel stalks that you may have sitting around. They are a little tough, but perfectly edible when sliced very thin, and give refreshing licorice flavour to this salad. If you rather, some finely shredded fennel bulb is a good substitute.
Kale, Cabbage, and Fennel Salad
5 cups finely shredded green cabbage
5 cups roughly chopped kale
1 cup finely sliced fennel stalks or fennel bulb
1/2 cup each dried cranberries and chopped pecan halves
Poppy Seed Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp poppy seeds
In a large bowl, mix together the kale, cabbage, fennel, cranberries, and pecans. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sugar, cider vinegar, and poppy seeds.
Pour the dressing into the kale-cabbage mix and toss until completely coated.
Eat immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Jen's Homegrown Eats 