Collard Greens Salad with Black-Eyed Peas

Collard Greens Salad with Black-Eyed Peas

Collard Greens Salad with Black-Eyed Peas is a highly satisfying and flavorful accompaniment for grilled or roasted meats or seafood and also serves well as a main course entrée. The combination of greens and black-eyed peas gives a nod to traditional Southern cooking, yet this recipe takes on a modern twist by pairing those ingredients with a flavorful vinaigrette. It adds variety and a highly nutritious punch to any meal.

Make it ahead, if you like, as the sturdy collard greens do well when mixed with the vinaigrette up to 1 hour before serving. If doing so, cover and chill the salad until ready to use, adding the cheese and pumpkin seeds just prior to serving.

Bonus – the recipe for the vinaigrette makes more than is necessary for the salad so use the extra on other salads, drizzled over grilled or roasted fish, or as a marinade for chicken or pork.

Makes: 4 – 5 servings as a side dish; 2 – 3 as an entree

INGREDIENTS

Vinaigrette:
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup champagne vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
pinch Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Salad:
4 cups shredded collard greens, washed, patted dry, stems removed
1 ½ cups cooked black-eyed peas
¼ small onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup vinaigrette (recipe above)
1/3 cup shredded cheese – Parmesan, Romano, or Manchego
¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds
Optional – ¼ cup dried cranberries or sweet cherries

DIRECTIONS

Prepare Vinaigrette:
1.  In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, honey ginger, salt and pepper until fully emulsified.

Assemble Salad:
2.  Place the collard greens, black-eyed peas and onion into a large salad bowl. Toss gently to combine.  Drizzle ¼ cup of the vinaigrette over top and toss again to coat evenly.  (NOTE: if not serving immediately, cover and chill salad at this point.)

3.  Sprinkle the cheese and pumpkin seeds on top (along with the dried fruit, if using) and serve.

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