CURRIED BROCCOLI AND CABBAGE SALAD WITH APPLES, RAISINS & ALMONDS

By Ana Larramendi

(Chicken* option too!)
Gluten-Free,  Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan*
Serves 4-6
 

Ingredients:

Dressing:
2 teas. Grated orange peel (~half of an orange)
¼ C. Orange juice, fresh squeezed
1 TB. Fresh ginger, peeled & minced
--(about 1 ½  inch piece)
½ C. Apple Cider vinegar
3 TB. Honey or Agave syrup* (vegan*)
1/3 C. flavorful extra virgin olive oil
1 ¼ teas. Salt
1 teas. Curry Powder (I use Penzy’s sweet curry)
½ teas. Ground cumin
½ teas. Black pepper
1/3 C. Golden raisins
 
Salad:
2 C. Broccoli florets- cut bite size
2 C. Cabbage, finely shredded (I like red cabbage)
1 C. Shredded Carrots
1 green onion, sliced
1 stalk celery, medium diced
1 Medium Apple, chopped
½ C. Almond slivers, toasted
 
Chicken Option:
1 TB. Olive oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves
Salt to taste
 
Instructions:
Dressing: Mix all the ingredients of the dressing together except for the raisins. Place in a pint jar with a lid, add the raisins and allow the dressing to marinate with the raisins for an hour. Dressing can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator up to 1 week.
 
Salad & Assembly: In a large bowl, add all the prepped vegetables (Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, green onion, and celery).  Add apples, the dressing and stir together. Add the almonds just before serving or simply keep to the side and sprinkle on top directly to your plate. Ready to serve! Keeps in the refrigerator for 4 days. A great take-to-work salad!
 
Notes:
Toasting almond slivers:
I like having a jar of toasted almonds handy because their flavor and crunch is such a pleasing addition to so many salads and dishes. To toast almonds slivers: preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread a pound of almond slivers evenly over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes, stir the pan to distribute the almonds so the almonds on the edges don’t get too brown. Bake 6-10 minutes longer or until the almonds are a pale golden color. Keep an eye on them, they can burn fast! Once they reach this color, pull the pan out of the oven and allow them to completely cool before transferring them to a jar for storage. NOTE: sliced almonds, which are very thin and fine, brown in half the time!
 
Adding Chicken to the salad:
Lightly salt both sides of the chicken breasts.
Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan (that has a lid) until the oil begins to smoke, add the chicken breasts and sear them, 2 minutes on each side, then add ¾ C. of water to the pan, reduce to a simmer, cover with the lid and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl with any remaining liquid and refrigerate till cold.
Cube the chicken meat and add it to the salad after you have added the apple. Taste for salt in case you need to adjust the seasoning.