Collard Cole Slaw

Recipe courtesy of Chef Rodney Lloyd
as seen on episode “Pine Knot Farms“, season 3

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of Collards
• 1 Head of Cabbage
• 2 Sweet Potatoes (raw)
• 1 small red onion

Dressing Ingredients:

• 16 oz Cider Vinegar
• 16 oz of Heavy Duty Mayo
• 1 cup sugar (may be adjusted to taste)
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 3 oz celery seed
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Dressing Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a large bowl or food processor and blend together.  Consistency should be thin, but have enough body to coat.  If needed, add more mayo for thicker dressing, more vinegar for thinner.  Sugar may be adjusted for taste.  Add salt and pepper to taste after it has been blended.

Slaw Directions:

• Stem collards by holding the stem firmly in one hand, and with other firmly pull collard leaf away from base of stem (like you are making a “safe” sign for baseball).
• Place them in an empty sink. Fill the sink with cold water. Wash the collards, rubbing them with your hands to remove any surface dirt. Drain sink, and refill with cold water. Repeat washing. Drain. Fill with cold water and wash a third time. Remove the collards from the sink, shake excess water off.  Dry THOROUGHLY.  Very Important to keep dry.
• Stack the dry leaves on top of each other like sheets of paper.
• Starting at the long side, roll them together like you are making a “collard cigar”. Keep them as tight as possible. Starting at the end of “cigar”, slice the collards so that you have 1/8 in slices, going all the way down the cigar.  This is a chiffonade cut and makes the collards very feathery and pretty for the slaw.
• Place into a large mixing bowl.
• Remove outer leaves of cabbage, and cut in half through the stem core.
• Remove the stem core from both sides of the cabbage and turn them over so that the outer leaf side is facing you.
• Rough slice the cabbage, keeping an 1/8in sized slice to the cabbage.
• Add to the collard slices into a large mixing bowl.
• Remove the skin from the sweet potatoes and slice them (use a mandolin or a sharp knife) lengthwise into thin slices- roughly 1/16 of an inch.
• Julienne cut them (stack two slices on top of each other and cut 1/8th in slices) and put them into collard-cabbage mixture.
• Remove skin of red onion and cut off ends.
• Cut onion length wise and julienne cut the onion into as thin a slice as you can cut.  Use a mandolin if you have one, but you want paper thin slices if possible. Red onion is very strong so you want to mitigate this with thin slices.
• Add to other veggie mixture.
• Mix dressing well and toss in as much as you’d care to to the mixture.  Start by keeping the mixture to the dryer side, adding more dressing as you go.

Heart Healthy information provided by WakeMed Heart Center. Find out more about living Heart Healthy from WakeMed.

Heart Healthy Tips

Collards are:

• Highly nutritious and low in calories
• Good source of Vitamins A, C and K, calcium and iron
• Contain 3 grams of fiber per ½ cup serving
• Try using half the recommended amount of fat when preparing in a recipe

NOTE: If you take Warfarin (Coumadin®), foods high in Vitamin K (such as leafy greens like collards) may affect the way your medication works. If you do eat Vitamin K-rich foods, eat the same amount each day and throughout the year. Do not eat a small amount one day and a large amount the next. If you have any questions or concerns about eating leafy greens, please talk to your doctor.

Tags: Cole Slaw, Collards, Slaw

Category: Recipes