MIX PLAY EAT
  • Menu
  • Blog
  • Contact

Kale and Cranberry Salad with Miso Ponzu Dressing

12/8/2016

0 Comments

 
The over-hyped kale salad is not something my husband enjoys. I like it fine, but oddly, our kid loves it, and I can't say that about too many things. Go figure; anything super healthy that we're luke-warm on, she's craving like it's a candy cane. But she won't just devour any old kale  salad; it's got to have a tart element, some crunch in there, and miso dressing. For a while, we were making a creamy miso dressing from Dale Talde's delicious cookbook Asian-American: Poudly Inauthentic Recipes from the Philippines to Brooklyn, which I am mildly obsessed with. But his recipe, perfect as it is, requires 9 ingredients, many of which we don't always have on-hand, like firm tofu and a selection of fresh citrus. So I just came up with this much simpler, if slightly less complex and creamy, quick 5-ingredient version which tastes pretty good, too. (It fooled our kid, so it must be okay.) Here's how we made this salad:

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale, ribs / stems fully removed, finely chopped into thin ribbons
1/2 cup of sweetened dried cranberries
1 cucumber sliced and / or 1 carrot, chopped into matchsticks, for crunch
1/2 cup of chopped, salted and roasted nuts such as pistachip, peantus, almonds or cashews for protein and even more crunch (obviously optional)

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons shiro miso (white miso)
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup of vegetable oil (such as canola or safflower)
2 teaspoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons ponzu (this is a blend of citrus so it replaces the fresh orange, lemon and lime juices from Talde's recipe well.)

To prepare, simply mix the first two dressing ingredients together well in a small bowl, then add the other ingredients and  whisk to combine.
Put salad ingredients in a large salad bowl, drizzle with dressing and toss well. 
Note: You can prep and dress this salad an hour or so before serving, unlike other salads. 
This salad also travels exceptionally well, to school or work, for lunch, for example. In this case though, I leave the dressing in a small separate jar to be mixed at mealtime. (Pictures above.)


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.



    ​Related Articles
    ​

    For the New York Times for Kids, I reported on tasty ways 5 Different Hot Chocolates from Around the World are prepared and savored. 

    For the Washington Post Kids Post, I spoke to an edible bug expert in Brooklyn, and wrote about how we can eat our way to sustainable future—with an important caveat and warning at the end, for those of us with food allergies!

    This old-school parenting hack I wrote about for LifeHacker will make your breakfasts a breeze, and allow for two family meals, some days.

    My essay about leaving my career to cook for my allergic kid, published by Allergic Living magazine.

    My essay about the challenges of holidays with How the Grinch almost stole our gingerbread house.
     

    About the Author

    I'm Lorraine Allen, and when our daughter was diagnosed with multiple severe food allergies in infancy, a decade ago, I decided to freelance from home so that I could also care and cook for her. Because I grew up all around the world, it's important to me that she be able to enjoy all sorts of international food.  I've learned, throughout this process, that even a large number of severe allergies and restrictions does not stop a person from eating well. On the contrary, by forcing us to focus so much attention on what we consume, we've gained a whole new appreciation for good food, and ironically, we all enjoy a healthier diet than before this diagnosis. This site is where we share some of our delicious egg-free, nut-free, shellfish-free (and often vegan and gluten-free) experiments and successes in the kitchen. Guten Appetit and thanks for reading!

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.