Creamy warm detox cabbage salad

Left overs are good.  They are like pieces of a puzzle you get to fit together to make a picture..or great meal.

After my experiments in the kitchen the previous day..making tasty tempeh ‘bacon’,  I had a quantity of cabbage left and I was still craving that cabbage ‘bite’, so I decided to haul everything from the fridge and see what I could create.  I wanted a salad but, with the weather still not quite at ‘bikini’ level, I still felt like some warmth in my belly.  The result…..Warm Detox Cabbage Salad.  Members of the brassica family; cabbage, kale, broccoli etc are excellent detoxifiers and I thought what better time than the change of the seasons to transition to the lighter diet of springtime (well actually 1st priority was I wanted something super good, super quick).

This recipe makes for an entree salad for two or a side salad for four (or two greedies).

Gather your ingredients

1/2 wash green cabbage
1 bunch kale
handful of mixed baby lettuce leaves or herb salad
2 large carrots
1 punnet of grape/cherry tomatoes (at room temp. for best flavour…tomatoes are like me, not very funky if they’re chilled!)
1/2 large Hass avocado, so ripe and delicous it’ll make you want to weep!
1/2 cup of chopped pineapple (not the kind that’s been strangled with syrup) * optional
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp unsweetened cranberries
Extra virgin OO - canola oil or a mix of walnut and OO would be good too….I wonder if peanut oil?….another time!
A cheeky squeeze of lemon
Crushed salt & cracked pepper

In a pan steam or boil in shallow, seasoned water the chopped cabbage..I like mine in fine strips…until becoming translucent.  Allow to cool a little.
chop kale and remove fibrous stems.  Place in a bowl, with julienned carrots, chopped tomatoes, avocado and remaining ingredients.  Mix

Creamy mustard dressing…Mustvocado

1/2 gloriously ripe avocado
1 tbsp Tofutti cream cheese
1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard or Trader Joes spicy mustard
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp Extra virgin OO
a dash of slightly cooled cabbage water to thin if needed

*NOTE; PLEASE IGNORE THE PB, IT ISN’T IN THIS RECIPE BUT PICTURE WAS ON FILE FOR A PRODUCT REVIEWS THAT I AM WRITING.  Though, if you replaced the mustard (or had the PB as an additional ingredient), the PB would make for a nice alternative I imagine..

For the dressing, mash the avocado in a bowl with the cheese and mustard before adding the raw minced garlic and oil.  Whisk/mix.  The consistency should be roughly that of heavy cream.  Let it sit for a minute or two for it all to get nicely acquainted and then pour into your salad and mix whilst inhaling the aroma. Test the seasoning…serve. Take a bow.

It was sooo good, lots of layers of flavour, the dressing creamy but elegant.  All that AND it is good for you!  Blimey.