Collard Green Salad with Toasted Pecans

Ingredients

1 pound blanched collard greens, cut into thin strips 
1 lemon freshly squeezed plus zest 
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 anchovies fillets 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
1/2 pound red cabbage, sliced
1 orange pepper, seeded and dice
1 red pepper, seeded and small dice
1/2 cup sliced radish
1/2 cup small diced red onion
1 (15.5-ounce) can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained 
1 avocado 
1 cup pecans, whole, toasted (optional)

Directions 

In a large pot of boiling salted water, add the collard greens and cook for 1 minute. Remove greens from the water and place them into a large bowl of salted ice water for 1 minute. Remove greens from the ice water and set them on paper towel to dry. Chop greens into thin strips, keeping the stems (optional). 

In a bowl, whisk together lemon juice, zest, dijon mustard and anchovies until well incorporated. Slowly stream in the extra-virgin olive oil until emulsified. Set aside. 

Toast the pecans in a dry medium sauté skillets over medium heat until it smells nutty, tossing occasionally, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the collard greens, cabbage, peppers, radish, red onion, black eyed peas, and coarsely chop the avocado. Whisk the dressing again and drizzle just enough dressing on the salad to coat it evenly. Gently toss and serve. Garnish with toasted pecans. 

Refrigerate the remainder dressing in an air tight container. Shake again to reuse. 

Helpful Hints

If you want to make this a day ahead, prepare the dressing and add it to the veggies right before you serve it. I like to dice the avocado at the very last minute to prevent it from browning. 

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