October 3, 2011
Happy Monday! Hope your weekends were pleasant, and that you’re welcoming the early chill of fall (if you’re in the Northeast) with as much glee as I am.
Since everyone was so unbelievably excited about Saturday’s red grape and almond gazpacho, I thought I’d tell you all about what I did with my leftover grapes. Grapes don’t come cheaply from Whole Foods, and rather than packing them up as boring little school snacks, I figured I’d get creative, and put them to use in another recipe. What I came up with was one of my favorite recent salads.
I mentioned in my last post that my holy trinity of taste seems to be tart, salty, and sweet: I love acid and a hint of sweetness in my recipes, and though I try to cook with reasonable and even minimal amounts of sodium, I do love how salt can brighten the flavors of a solid dish. This salad happens to embody all of those qualities: its dressing, a tahini lemon and curry mix, is delicious and surprising, and it works beautifully with the sweetness of the red grapes AND raisins in this salad (yes, I decided to make it a grape double-header).
M’s vote on this one was that it wanted a little more green; I liked the way red cabbage and carrot dominated here, if only because it’s a departure from my usual green bowls, but you could definitely nix some of the carrot and amp up the romaine if you like. Dress it lightly, dress it heavy—no matter what you do, it’s hard to go wrong with this one.
Curried Carrot and Grape Slaw (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)
Serves 4
4 large carrots, grated
1/2 small red cabbage (or a quarter of a larger one), shredded
1 heaping cup shredded romaine lettuce
1/2 cup red grapes, quartered
1/3 cup raisins
For the dressing:
4 tbsp tahini
Juice of 2 lemons
1 tbsp curry powder
1/3 cup water
2 tsps tamari
1 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup
Mix all the salad ingredients in a large bowl, then coat well with the dressing. If you have too much dressing for your taste, and want to reserve some, it should last a week in the fridge.
Speaking of things that last, this salad will keep nicely overnight, unlike most of my salad concoctions, so feel free to make it in advance or use your leftovers generously. The flavors will be even more “married” on day two, and you’ll still have a deliciously creamy texture:
Tangy, salty, sweet, and full of crunch and texture? It doesn’t get much better. If you were to add some crispy tempeh cubes or eggplant bacon to this salad, though, or if you were to top it with a nice heap of lentils—well, it might actually get a little better. However you serve it, this one’s a winner!
Alright folks. My first Orgo exam is tonight, so please, send me your good luck wishes! I’m going to need them.
xo
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This is really yummy, G. Crunching through it as we speak, w/ addition of brown rice. Even better next day. 🙂 xo
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-t do I miss you.
Just made this! I wasn’t sure how grapes in coleslaw would work but it turns out they are amazing! I have to say, I made it with the dressing in the recipe once but I like it even better with Russell James’ Hoisini sauce instead — it is to live for! Check it out at http://therawchef.com/therawchefblog/raw-recipe-broccoli-hoisini-sauce-parsnip-rice – I made a double batch and have been putting it on everything!
Hey Gena, out of curiosity, if this has tamari in it then how is it soy free? Are you using a soy-less tamari?
This looks great!
Hope the test went well!!
I made this on same day you posted. I added a lot of greens though but I liked the option of making it at night and having it next day.
It was great, thanks for sharing this.
this looks great!!! love all the colors too.
good luck on your exam, I know I am late to say that but hope it went well
hey Gena
excellent idea to finish my red cabbage!
please try this one from Yotam Ottolenghi it is one of a kind..
with macadamia, mango, red cabbage, lemon, sweet and spicy, you will love it!
http://gu.com/p/xk4zp
ciao!
Ooh this sounds delicious! I too am a fan of the sweet/savoury/tart combo and I believe I have all the ingredients to this back at my apartment minus the grapes so I will definitely be trying this soon. I have an inkling some shreded red onion would top this off nicely – but I know you and onions have issues so I’ll keep the results to myself 🙂
Good luck on your exam!
çok güzel görünüyorlar 🙂
This looks delicious, it’s really my kinda salad. I specially like the fact that you use curry, you can (almost) never go wrong with that :).
Am starting a binder with Gena recipes. I am also stocking my pantry (a couple of items at a time cuz I’m poor 😉 so that I can whip ’em up without having to run to the grocery every time.
Good luck! This looks great. Will make this salad this week 🙂
The first orgo exam is hefty. Good luck!
Ok I just typed a huge comment and it said it looked a bit spammy and then proceeded to eat my comment…grr!!
Best of luck on the exam and I love this line in the recipe:
1/2 cup red grapes, quartered
Wonder if I could pay someone to quarter my grapes for me! haha! I havent done that since Skylar was a small baby and they were a choking hazard.
I love using grapes in salads and your recipe looks awesome!
Mmmmm. Anything hinting towards Indian food in the slightest of ways makes me swoon. This recipe is no exception, Gena! Good luck on Orgo. It is a killer but I know you can do it! If I passed it, anyone can. 😉
I love tahini based dressings – I have at least one a week (not to mention tahini flavored dishes like hummus). I will definitely be trying this tahini+curry combination.
Good luck on your exam!
Sending you very best of luck–and this salad sounds great!
Another great salad, Gena. The dressing looks fantastic! (good luck on the exam!)
That looks fantastic! (I’m glad M got a vote) 😉
I just clipped this recipe for later in the week. I love the sweet, tangy, salty flavor combo.
Best of luck on your exam!!
Gena, this salad looks amazing! I love the flavor combo – can’t wait to try this!
Good luck on your exam!
I can see now that I’m going to have break down and buy some tahini.
If you have access to an asian market they often have “sesame paste” for super cheap- doubt its raw/organic, but it was $2….
Homemade coleslaw is the best! I love the idea of grapes and curry – sort of like coronation chicken (which is my favorite sandwich filling of all time) but raw veganified, which rocks 🙂
Good luck with your exam! This looks like a delicious recipe, I’m a massive fan of sweet and salty flavour combinations and this sounds perfect 🙂
Gena, if nothing else the simplicity of these delicious-looking meals is motivating me to incorporate far more raw meals in my diet! I think I’ve bookmarked every recipe you’ve posted recently. Can’t wait to try this one.
Good luck on your exam! I know you’ll do great. I’m applying for a post-bacc program in nutrition and I’m so nervous about the prospect of taking orgo again and I’ve done it before. I have major respect for you!
This looks really good!
Personally, I might vary it by doing shredded carrots AND raw purple beets and by adding raw sunflower seeds for a crunch (maybe you could do a roasted/salted sunflower seed here to supply the salt component) and also change the dressing to something more vinaigrettey as I am not a tahini fan (except for Aneglica Kitch’s house dressing- sorry for dropping the AK bomb again).
Hmmm. Maybe I’ll do a mixture of fresh-squeezed orange juice, cold-pressed lemon flax oil, and shredded fresh mint… I shall try this!
Thank you for the inspiration as usual.
I love hippie food…
Your dressings always sound incredible. I just bought a brand new jar of tahini that needs to be broken in, and this salad sounds perfect. Salty and sweet is my all-time favorite flavor combination.
This looks great and I just happen to have carrots, purple cabbage and romaine in the fridge which need to be used. Thanks and good luck! I’m sure you’ll do well on the exam!
Ah I love curry and grapes together! Salads like these seem to get better with time, because the flavors just marinate really well.
Good luck with the test! This looks good although whenever I get grapes its hard for me to not just wolf them down by the handful.