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Food for Thought Friday: majorly craving this crunchy salad right now 🍊
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Hello!
I had a major craving for one of my favorite unique salads this week... and it tasted SO GOOD when I made it last night that I figured I'd remind you about it :).
This "Elegant Cabbage Salad" is a perfect transition from winter to spring, because it uses cabbage (kinda wintry) instead of lettuce, but the light dressing and springy mint, fruit, and feta make it feel really bright and fresh! T his is one of those dishes that I used to bring to potlucks and people would email me days later to ask for the recipe (which is always impressive to me because it means they were STILL thinking about it days later)! Even my husband commented on how different and delicious it was last night, so just in case you needed further confirmation from a meat-lover, there you go!
You may know that I LOVE cabbage. It is one of my favorite veggies because you don’t have to wash it, it is SO FAST to chop, and it lasts 2+ weeks (whole) in the fridge! I love to eat it many ways: roasted, sautéed, and RAW in a salad or slaw!
Cabbage works well in a salad when you:
- Chop it in small, thin, bite size pieces so it’s easier to eat (a big hunk of raw cabbage is not fun to chew, so please chop into pieces that are easily chewable in size)
- Add some elegant, springy toppings + light, zingy dressing to elevate humble cabbage to tasty heights!
- Toss really well with tongs or your hands to help the cabbage absorb the dressing - also you can keep the dressed leftovers because they still taste great the next day!!
The edited recipe is below, and here are a few notes/adjustments I made when I prepared this last night that I figured I'd tell you about too!
- I didn't have enough dried apricots, so I added some peeled tangerines chopped into small chunks as well, and they were great!
- I left out the fennel and didn't really miss it!
- I used A LOT of mint and it was so good
- I used a fun apricot-white-balsamic vinegar, which was super delicious; I prefer a white/light vinegar on this salad so I recommend sticking to a vinegar like white wine, champagne, sherry, rice wine, apple cider, or a fun/specialty fruity vinegar you may have around!
- hazelnuts tasted extra special as I don't use those very often
- the feta is key, I think :)
- I made this while listening to a podcast and enjoyed doing it kind of slowly - picking the mint leaves, chopping the apricots, etc. Next time I think I'll toss the cabbage with the dressing BEFORE I prepare the toppings, as that would give it some more time to absorb the flavors.
- I just finished eating my dressed-leftovers while writing this email and they were SUPER TASTY! Make extra so you can have a not-sad-desk-lunch like I just did!
I hope you try this and enjoy! Recipe below the pic. Happy spring salad-making!
Love,
Jess
Actual leftover salad that I ate while writing this email: 🤩
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Elegant Cabbage Salad by GPJ
takes 25 minutes, makes a big bowl
recipe updated March 2022 from previous versions
*This actually keeps a day or two in the fridge! It will wilt a little and the mint will turn brownish but it will still taste really good! If you do store leftovers and then they taste dry, simply give it a quick refresh of a little extra dressing and an extra pinch of salt.
Ingredients:
- 1 large green cabbage
- roughly 1 cup whole hazelnuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, or pistachios would also work well)
- about 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- about 1 bunch fresh mint (or sub another fresh herb if you have to; cilantro would be my next choice)
- 1/2-1 cup chopped dried apricots, dates or other fruit (in the summer, fresh stone fruit like peaches, nectarines, or apricots are great! in winter, clementines or tangerines are delish)
- dressing: olive oil + your choice of champagne vinegar, white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, a fun/light fruity vinegar, OR a combo of vinegars
- optional: 1 fennel bulb or a bunch of radishes
Instructions:
Note - This recipe is super simple but I do think the chopping makes a difference in the end result of your dish, so I've included detailed instructions on how I like to chop it (and toast nuts) in case they're helpful! See photos below for chopping/toasting visuals.
- Chop cabbage into thin-ish ribbons and add to a large bowl.
- Cabbage chopping details: Remove any dry or damaged leaves from the cabbage if needed. Chop cabbage in half through the stem/stalk. Then place the flat side down on your cutting board, cut in half through the root once again, and then - perpendicular to that cut - chop cabbage into thin ribbons. You can chop around the core when you get to it. Place cabbage ribbons in a large salad bowl, breaking them up with your hand a bit as you go. Keep working until you’ve chopped as much as you like, then save any extra cabbage for later.
- New Note: if you're going to eat this immediately after making it, I recommend tossing cabbage with the dressing + salt and pepper NOW and allowing it some time to absorb the dressing while you prepare the rest of the toppings. If so, see/do step 7 and then come back to step 2!
- If you have time, and for max deliciousness, roast/toast the nuts.
- Roast/toasting nuts details: Roasting in the oven makes for the most evenly-toasted nuts. Roast nuts on a dry sheet pan in a 350 oven for 8-15 minutes - setting timer/checking frequently to make sure they don’t burn. I also sometimes toast nuts in a hot cast iron pan on medium, stirring periodically for about 5-15 minutes until the nuts are fragrant and browned on at least one side. Make sure you keep a close eye on them as they can go from toasted to burned VERY quickly. Make sure you use your nose for either of these methods!!
- While nuts are toasting, roughly chop up dried (or fresh) fruit into bite size pieces, add to the salad.
- If using, chop fennel into small bite-size pieces, ideally as thin as possible (use mandolin slicer if you feel comfortable with that). Add to salad.
- Fennel chopping details: I chop it similarly to cabbage - first, in half longways through the core, then 1-2 perpendicular chops while it’s flat-side down on the cutting board, then slice as thinly as possible till you get to the bottom. Do this for each half. Alternately you could use a veggie peeler or mandolin to get thin shavings.
- Pick off mint leaves and add to the salad as well. I leave them whole but you can chop if you prefer.
- Crumble feta, add to the salad.
- Add toasted nuts when finished, or just raw nuts if you don’t feel like toasting.
- If you didn't already, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then add vinegar and oil to taste (you need a bit more for the cabbage compared to a lettuce salad). Toss well with tongs or your hands to get the cabbage well coated and seasoned. Be sure to taste and adjust the dressing and seasoning until it tastes really good! Serve, or let it sit to allow cabbage to absorb the dressing a bit more!
- Enjoy! Tastes great the next day, too!
Cabbage chopping details:
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All photos are taken by me and recipes written by me, unless otherwise noted.
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Hi, I'm Jess! I help health-conscious, busy people transform their cooking from chore to lifestyle through intuitive cooking, which I teach through online classes, free content, coaching and more. This is my newsletter, Food for Thought Fridays, where I share highly actionable tips and inspiration to help you cook more intuitively (which makes cooking feel easier and SO much more fun!). Once a month, I share a recipe that's really worth making, and I only share those with my email subscribers. Sometimes the text above may include affiliate links, meaning (at no additional cost to you) I get a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me to continue to share free content, so I would love it if you buy through my link! Thank you for supporting Garlic Press Jess!
I currently work + live on land that is the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone. And I can't wait to eat at Cafe Ohlone! Check out this article about them.
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