You might think collard greens aren’t good to eat raw but you’d be mistaken. I don’t blame you. Many people think raw collard greens are tough to eat. In this creamy vegan collard green salad we soften them up by marinating them. The result is a nutrient packed, living, soul food dish. You can also try this raw Ethiopian collard green recipe.
Our garden is lush right now, filled with a variety of greens, sweet potatoes, carrots, beans and more. I picked these collard greens from the garden an hour or so before making this dish. Can’t get much fresher than that!
Next I cut them into very thin strips. This also helps soften them up. Then I put them in a bowl along with grated carrots, chopped bell pepper, minced garlic, chopped oyster mushrooms and finely chopped onion. I added lemon juice, soy sauce and vinegar, mirin and tossed them to coat.
I cubed 1 avocado. I used my clean hands to massage the avocado into the greens.
Now I added some nutritional yeast, a bit of chipotle pepper for heat and a smoky flavor and a bit of mirin for a little sweetness. Then I let it marinate while I finished the rest of the meal. Waiting 15-30 minutes is all it takes.
You can also make this recipe ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator for a few hours until meal time. Don’t wait much longer than that as the avocado will start to get discolored.
- 1 bunch collard greens, washed and tough stems removed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- ½ cup other chopped veggies (optional, I used oyster mushrooms)
- ½ green or red bell pepper, chopped
- 1-2 tsp minced garlic
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 TBL white wine or apple cider vinegar
- 2 TBL soy sauce
- 1 tsp mirin
- 2 TBL nutritional yeast (optional, omit if you don't have or like it)
- 1 avocado
- ½ - 1 tsp chipotle pepper powder
- Place chopped veggies (except avocado) in a large bowl
- Add lemon juice, vinegar, soy sauce and mirin
- Mix to coat veggies well
- Add avocado
- Massage with your clean hands until avocado is mashed and distributed throughout the salad
- Add the chipotle pepper powder and nutritional yeast and mix again
- Let marinate for at least 15 minutes to soften
What do you think? Will you try this recipe? Do you wonder about eating raw collards? Let me know in the comments below!
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I will deginitely try this tecipe. It dounds yummy. Snd you’re right I would have thought that the collards are tough & bitter for a salad. Is mirin raw?
Wanda, I hope you enjoy it! Mirin is not raw but is fermented. It is a Japanese sweet cooking wine. Look for an authentic mirin, not one that is essentially sugar water. In the US Eden brand is one to look for. You can find out more here. https://www.edenfoods.com/store/mirin-rice-cooking-wine-glass-bottle.html#collapse-description