Raw Yam (Oca) & Kale Salad
Oca, also known as yam in New Zealand, is a South American root vegetable that is grown as a major crop in the Andes. They come in various colors and taste both sweet, citrusy, and savoury at the same time. You can eat the skin of oca, and enjoy them raw or cooked! When raw, they’re crunchy, and many have a distinctive lemony vibe. Cooked, they’re starchier and have a similar texture to cooked turnip or kohlrabi. The flavour gets sweeter when cooked, and if you boil or steam them, the lemon tang disappears.
This recipe incorporates another polarising veg for many, kale! In this recipe you need to 'massage' the leaves to break down and soften the fibres. You can also use rocket or salad leaves instead if you prefer (but don't massage them!)
- 75g curly kale, leaves stripped from their stalks and washed
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- 100g oca, washed well
- small handful hazelnuts, toasted, skinned hazelnuts and roughly chopped
- small bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- salt and pepper
- In a large bowl, mix the kale with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a little squeeze of lemon juice. Massage the leaves for a few minutes until they just soften slightly.
- Finely slice the yams into very thin rings. Mix in the bowl with the kale, nuts, parsley. Add another glug of olive oil, some lemon juice and season to taste (the raw yam is quite citrusy on its own, so you may prefer just a little more olive oil or salt and no lemon)
- Enjoy!