Collard Slaw

As this old standby casserole and the 3 Bowls cookbook both suggest, there's something oddly meant-to-be about macrobiotic/Japanese flavors and soul-foody ones.  Collard greens are probably the most stunning case of this; I love to eat them stirfried not only with lots of garlic but also with a bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds.  I tried to mix that up a bit here by making a cold slaw that uses similar flavors.  This could easily be a raw salad if you slice the greens really thinly and massage them when you're mixing it all up, but I preferred to lightly steam the collards before proceeding.  This recipe was really simple but also really delicious and healthy.

Collard Slaw

Ingredients

1 bunch collards, washed, de-stemmed, and thinly sliced

2 carrots, grated

2 scallions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 TB grated ginger

salt to taste

*

sesame oil to taste

rice vinegar to taste

*

sesame seeds, toasted

Instructions

1. Lightly steam collards if desired.  Don't overcook them!
2. Combine collards, carrots, scallions, garlic, and ginger in a large bowl and toss with salt.
3. Dress to taste with sesame oil (use sparingly) and rice vinegar.  Adjust salt to taste as well.
4. Serve chilled and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  Serves about 4.