Cabbage and Asian Pear Salad with Smoky Avocado and Cumin Dressing

Guys, I am loving your list of your favourite raw recipes. It isn’t too late to win a copy of Annelie’s Raw Food Power. To enter, just leave a comment here telling me about your favourite raw meal. Definitely include a link to a recipe if it is online, like Gabby’s Raw “Baked” Fettuccine Alfredo, Genevieve’s Mango Gazpacho or Hannah’s Raw Blondies with Chocolate Ganache.   I really liked Ellen’s suggest of a Korean collard wrap with Asian pear and sweet chili sauce. Sounds delicious! I ended up hunting down some Asian pear, napa cabbage and collards but at the last minute, as the winds warmed me with the southern breeze (this was right before it snowed yesterday), I changed my mind. Instead of a wrap, I went with a chopped salad. And instead of Korean and I went Mexican with a smoky avocado and cumin dressing.

When asked what I usually eat, I explain to people that I love to make soups and salads. Not your flaky salads and not your brothy soups, I prefer hearty one-pot meals in a bowl. My salads tend to be either grain-based or bean-based, whereas I don’t make the standard leafy side salad with a simple vinaigrette. I suppose I don’t find it very high-yield. If I want leafy greens, I’ll add them to my soup or salad!

Not all dressings are created equal, and this smoky avocado dressing is creamy but intense at the same time. It wouldn’t work with flimsy baby greens, which is why I opted for heartier sliced Napa cabbage and collard greens. To counter the heaviness of the dressing, I added a touch of sweetness to the salad with Asian pear and red bell pepper. To add even more goodness, I added some arugula sprouts and to add a good protein source I added chickpeas [sprouted chickpeas keeps this raw, but cooked chickpeas are what I prefer]. With the dressing thinned out over the salad, it was a nice merriment of flavours and textures, although a tad heavy on cumin (even for me).

OK, next up: working on that Korean wrap. 🙂

This is my submission to Deb for this week’s Souper Sundays.

Napa Cabbage and Asian Pear Salad with Smoky Avocado and Cumin Dressing

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced collards
1/2 Asian pear, cubed
1/2 small red pepper, cubed
1/2 cup (sprouted) chickpeas (I actually prefer cooked chickpeas, so maybe next time I will cook the sprouted beans)
1/4 cup sprouts (I used arugula sprouts here)

Smoky Avocado and Cumin Dressing (see recipe below)

1. Mix together all the vegetables. Pour dressing over this salad, and toss well. Top with chickpeas and sprouts.

Serves 1.

Smoky Avocado and Cumin Dressing
Adapted from Choosing Raw

1 small avocado
1 tbsp cumin powder (I would use less next time, it was a bit strong)
Juice of 2 limes (~1/4-1/3 cup)
Few shakes liquid smoke (taste after a few drops)
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
Dash Aleppo pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1. Mix all ingredients except oil together in a food processor or blender. While the machine is still running, drizzle oil in a thin stream to emulsify. Thin with further water if desired.

Makes 1 1/4 cups.