This winter salad is phenomenally good and would be an excellent accompaniment to so many Dovebrook meals- we can't recommend it highly enough! It's also a great example of how easy and fun it can be to eat the rainbow. You could definitely take this salad as a rough template and add in different colourful vegetables and you could use blood oranges or normal oranges instead of persimmons. Other delicious seasonal vegetables could be used instead of the leek and Brussel Sprouts. You could try experimenting with some root vegetables like roasted beetroots, celeriac, Jerusalem Artichokes or parsnips. Alternatively you could include any of these root vegetables raw and shaved into ribbons, or you could use a mandolin for the beetroot and that would be a beautiful raw addition to the salad.
The mix of grains we used- quinoa and spelt helped to bulk it out and feel more substantial and the mix of toasted walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin and sesame seeds gave it a lovely extra crunch as well as giving it a lovely dose of protein and healthy fats. Again, you could choose a different grain here such as millet or bulgur wheat and other nuts such as pecans would be delicious.
To make a salad really stand out we always think texture is important and we love the crunchiness not just of the nuts but of the thinly shredded raw cabbage as well. No salad is complete without an excellent dressing and we used this one to thoroughly massage the raw kale, ensuring every part of the roughly chopped leaves were generously coated before adding the other vegetables, fruits and nuts to the mix.
We hope this salad inspired you to get experimenting!
Ingredients:
300g Brussel Sprouts, stems removed and cut in half
1 leek, sliced into 1 cm rounds
1 tbsp olive oil
150g kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
1 kohlrabi, thinly sliced (you could use a mandolin to get perfectly even thin slices)
170g finely shredded raw purple cabbage
80g finely shredded raw savoy cabbage
1 persimmon thinly sliced
125g uncooked quinoa
50g uncooked spelt
A small handful pomegranate seeds
160g of toasted nuts and seeds- we used walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin and black & white sesame
50g crumbled vegan feta (optional)
Handful of parsley for garnish
Mustard Dressing:
4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp maple syrup
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 small garlic clove, minced
Pinch of salt & pepper
Method:
Preheat oven to 180C (fan)
Place the halved Brussel Sprouts and leek in a baking dish, drizzle with the oil and salt and toss with your hands.
Bake for roughly 20 minutes.
Meanwhile cook your grains according to the packet instructions.
Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl or jar.
Place the kale in a large salad bowl, pour the dressing over it and massage thoroughly with your hands ensuring every part of the kale is nicely coated. Add the cooked quinoa and spelt and toss to combine.Then add the Brussel Sprouts and the other vegetables, the persimmon, pomegranate seeds, nuts and toss well again.
Top with some crumbled vegan feta if the mood takes you and some seasonal fresh herbs. (We simply used parsley)
