We decided to have a dinner party the night before we left for the Azores. It was a nice send-off for us, and an opportunity to share our garden harvest and fish. Toby made this tuna. My friend Jaime brought a huge dish of fresh mango salsa with local Pine Island mangos. (I’ll work on sharing that recipe with you, it was beautiful and delicious.)
I made this salad with the last of our collards and kohlrabi. My brother finished it off for lunch the next day and texted me, “I like that white vegetable in the collard salad. What do you call that again?” Kohlrabi.
All the vegetables are crisp and crunchy, and they’ll stay that way even if you dress it ahead of time. I made an Asian-style vinaigrette to compliment the flavors of the tuna.
I thought this would be the last collards I’d eat for a while, but I was surprised to see collards in gardens all over the island of Flores. The famous Portuguese soup, caldo verde, is made with them.
I can’t wait to make it, along with so many other great dishes I tasted there.
- 1 dozen collard leaves, washed and thoroughly dried
- 1 kohlrabi, julienned
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup shelled edamame
- 1 green onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- Remove the tough end stems of the collards. Roll up a few at a time and thinly slice them. In a large bowl, combine the collards, kohlrabi, carrots, pepper, edamame, and green onion.
- Whisk the rice wine vinegar, tamari, honey, tahini, sesame oil, lemon juice, and ginger. Slowly whisk in the grapeseed oil.
- Toss the salad with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, sprinkle toasted sesame seeds over the top.
