Equal Parts

I pulled into the gas station last Friday morning and heard on the news that Peter Tork had passed away. Had I heard this news on Thursday morning it would have gone unnoticed, but since it was Friday morning, the day after a new Spilled Milk episode was released, I thought, “Ohh, the Monkees.” In their typical quest to run with a food topic “as far as they can go--and, regrettably, sometimes further,” hosts Matthew and Molly linked their podcast discussion about packaged yogurt to the radio show Car Talk, then naturally to horsepower and torque, then to Peter Tork, of course, and their favorite Monkees songs.

That evening, while unwinding after work to the most recent episode of Jeopardy, Mr. Trebek presented this clue: Fried wonton strips, mandarin orange, & sesame dressing are key ingredients in this poultry salad. “WHAT IS ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD! BOOM!” I shouted in victory to my television. I paused the show to send a picture of the clue to Jeff and my sister with the caption, “DID YOU READ MY BLOG YESTERDAY?!” I had just published a love letter to this very dish.

I took these incidents to mean one of two things. Either I could expect a third food-related coincidence to appear soon. Or, since my trivia knowledge was on point, I should head to a game at a local bar. It seemed I was a shoo-in to at least go home with a growler, if not a $100 gift card. But, I didn’t go to a bar; I stayed home and made pizzas. And unless you count spending $15 for a $25 certificate to a local bakery at an auction benefiting my former high school, there were no food miracles this weekend.

It was the first time I had ever hosted make-your-own-pizza night, and I relied heavily on my friend Kristen to supply the ingredients, equipment, and instruction. I was in charge of salad and made a version of an old favorite, Heidi Swanson’s Kale and Pecorino Salad. I think it’s the perfect pizza accompaniment. The dark greens provide a healthy balance to the bread and cheese, and the tahini-based dressing is Caesar-like enough to be familiar but also fresh. I love this salad so much I made it again to bring to work on Monday. Though, if you need to talk to your coworkers after eating this salad, I recommend reducing the shallot by half and leaving out the green onions entirely.

KALE AND CABBAGE SALAD WITH TAHINI DRESSING, inspired by Heidi Swanson

For the dressing, you’ll need:
1 small shallot, finely chopped
The juice of 1 small lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp tahini
2 tsp honey
Salt to taste

For the salad, you’ll need:
1 bunch of kale, finely shredded
1/3 head of cabbage, finely shredded

Optional additions:
2/3 cups shredded pecorino cheese
3 green onions, finely sliced
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
15 green olives, chopped

To make the dressing, add the shallot to the lemon juice and let sit for at least 5 minutes, then mix in the olive oil, tahini, honey, and salt. Add the kale and cabbage to a large bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss to combine. Add the pecorino cheese, if using, and toss to combine. Add the green onions, toasted pecans, and green olives over the top, if using.