Citrusy Winter Slaw

Arizona is a great place to live in the winter. Most days can be spent outside, hiking, biking, playing tennis or whatever it is that you like to do. In the month of January or close there after we literally have citrus coming out of our ears. In our yard alone we have a pink grapefruit tree and a lemon tree. Some neighbors have the same but others also have orange and pomegranates trees too. The unspoken system works like this, if you have extra you set some out in front of your house on the curb. Usually they are placed in a large box or crates with extra bags on the side so neighbors can pick and choose what they need. It’s a great incentive for taking a nice walk around the neighborhood.

Anyway when I saw this Winter Slaw recipe in my new cookbook "Make It Ahead" by Ina Garten; I ear tagged the page and waited until January. The salad is a wonderful combination of kale, Brussel sprouts and radicchio dressed with a simple lemon vinaigrette. The day I made this salad I added the dressing about 20 minutes before serving and just let the salad sit on the counter lightly wilting itself. The Parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds were added in right before serving. I made extra of the dressing and the slaw veggies and stored them separately in the fridge for another meal the next day. This salad is a great combination of crunchy, tart, salty and sweet. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

6 to 7 large kale leaves, stems removed (cut into thin slices)
6 to 8 Brussels sprouts (trimmed, cut into thin slices)
1/2 small head radicchio (cored, cut into thin shreds)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 to 2 depends on the lemon itself)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 to 4 ounces Parmesan cheese (shaved with a vegetable peeler)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
Salt if needed

To prepare:

Place prepared kale, Brussels sprouts, radicchio and dried cranberries in a large bowl.

In a medium sized bowl add lemon juice, olive oil and honey. Whisk together. Pour enough dressing on the salad just to moisten it, set aside about 20 minutes. When ready to serve, add more of the dressing if necessary. Top with Parmesan and sunflower seeds.

*Because of the Parmesan cheese I did not add salt, thought that it was salty enough*

Recipe slightly adapted from the cookbook "Make It Ahead" by Ina Garten.