This restaurant-worthy salad is made with hearty greens, green apple, candied pistachios, and creamy, finger-licking sage dressing. It’s damn good and bound to be a heavy hitter at your next gathering!
Join me in celebrating Juneteenth with 18 other Black culinary creators. This year, we are honoring 19 Black American cookbook authors by recreating their recipes, amplifying their work, and sharing our connections to Freedom Day. Juneteenth marks our country’s second independence day, the final emancipation of those enslaved in the US announced in 1865. Share these recipes with your family and help us continue the legacy of celebrating progress. Additionally, you can easily follow each participant by using the hashtag #JuneteenthCookout2022 on Instagram.
This collaboration is brought to you by Eat the Culture.
What is Juneteenth
Juneteenth (a merge of the words/date June Nineteenth) marks the date in 1865 that the last enslaved people learned of their freedom. More generally, Juneteenth is the emancipation of enslaved African Americans throughout the former Confederate States of America , outside Native American lands.
For over 150 years since, Black American families, home-cooks, chefs, and culinarians have commemorated the summer holiday with a myriad of food traditions that tell a story of the perseverance of a people.
To Celebrate, I’ve whipped up Bryant Terry’s “All-Green Everything Salad with Creamy Sage Dressing” recipe from his cookbook “Vegetable Kingdom”. I’ll also be sharing a list of other delicious, flavorful vegan and vegetarian dishes that can be found below!
This All-Green Everything Salad is a tasty, vibrant, healthful addition to a Juneteenth Cookout. It’s perfect to serve alongside richer dishes to balance them out. It’s also light, but filling enough to enjoy on its own.
Here Are the Main Components
- Kale
- Arugula
- Green Apple
- Candied Pistachios
- Creamy Sage Dressing
To Prep the Kale
Wash, de-stem, then cut dino kale into 1-inch squares. Next, put the kale into a large bowl, add salt and lemon juice. Roll up your sleeves and massage for a few minutes then set aside.
Making the Creamy Sage Dressing
Blend the following ingredients together: Silken tofu, fresh sage, garlic, rice vinegar, olive oil, lemon, cane sugar, salt, and pepper
If dressing is too thick for your liking, just add a squeeze of lemon or an additional splash of rice vinegar.
Feel free to double or triple the recipe. Trust me. You’re gona want leftovers *wink*.
The Candied Pistachios
Heat oil in a skillet. Add cane sugar and pistachios. Stir until sugar is melted and pistachios are fragrant and starting to brown.
Y’all…this was my first time making candied nuts. The pistachios were sooo good! They were the perfect addition to balance the bitter arugula and added fabulous texture to the salad.
Sidenote: Next time, I’ll make a separate batch for snacking. I’m thinking of adding cinnamon and a pinch of salt. What do you think?
This salad came together beautifully! It’s perfect to serve alongside richer dishes to balance them out. It’s also light, but filling enough to enjoy on its own.
A Love Letter to Bryant Terry
Holding Bryant Terry’s “Vegetable Kingdom” cookbook in my hands and flipping through the pages for the first time was immediately took me back to the beginning of my vegan journey. His Vegan Soul Kitchen cookbook was the first ever vegan cookbook I bought when I transitioned to a vegan diet 6 years ago. I remember walking through a bookstore in Leimert Park in Los Angeles and grabbing his book off the shelf thinking “Oh this is the one right here!” And that moment marked the beginning of my long-term relationship with Bryant’s vegan cookbooks; I now own 4 and have made countless recipes from each book. It’s an honor to be one of Bryant’s long time supporters. His recipes STAY on repeat in my kitchen. And when I’m feeling dangerous, I turn some of salad and entrée recipes into hand-held wraps and I compliment them with different sauces from the condiment sections of his cookbooks.
Thank you, Bryant, for inspiring the ongoing flavor in my kitchen.
More Juneteenth Cookout Recipes
- Grape-Tarragon Spritzer from Sense and Edibility
- Super Moist Almond Peach Cake from That Green Lyfe
- Rum Rum Punch from This Worthey Life
- Juneteenth Strawberry Soda from This Worthy Life
- Authentic Misir Wot – Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew from That Green Lyfe
- Jenne Claiborne’s Purple and White Potato Salad from Big Delicious Life
Recipe
All-Green Everything Salad
Equipment
- blender
- Large Bowl
- cast iron skillet
- Baking sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar do not use seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup silken tofu must use silken tofu for smooth consistency
- 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons minced sage
- 6 tablespoons olive oil I used extra virgin olive oil
- pink salt (to taste) or kosher salt
- freshly ground white pepper to taste I did not have white pepper, so I used black pepper
Salad
- 6 cups bite-sized lacinato (dino) kale de-stemmed
- ½ lemon
- pink (salt to taste) or kosher salt
- 2-3 large granny smith apples peeled (optional), cored, and diced
- 2 teaspoons safflower oil
- ½ cup raw pistachios or raw pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
- 2 cups baby arugula if needed, remove tough stems
Instructions
Make the Dressing
- In a blender, combine the rice vinegar, lemon juice, tofu, sugar, garlic, and sage. and olive oil until creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Make the Salad
- Put the kale in a large bowl. Lightly spray or squeeze in lemon juice and sprinkle with salt, then massage the kale until it just starts to wilt, about 2 minutes. Dump the apples into the bowl, add just enough dressing to lightly coat, and toss everything. Set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Warm a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and heat until shimmering. Lower the heat to medium, add the pistachios and sugar, and stir constantly until the sugar has melted and the pistachios are fragrant and starting to brown, about 1.5 minutes.
- Transfer the nuts to the baking sheet and immediately spread them apart using two forks. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
- Add arugula to the bowl with the kale and apples, add more dressing, and toss to lightly coat. Top with the candied pistachios, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the remaining dressing on the side in case people want to drizzle on more.
[…] All-Green Everything Salad w/ Creamy Sage Dressing by That Green Lyfe from the book Vegetable Kingdom […]