A refreshing “slaw”

I had a quick email last night from mobim (my older brother in Michigan) asking me to send a recipe to his friend for a salad I made while I was there. This is what I sent:

Hi Pam,

My brother asked me to send you a recipe . . . I think it was the “slaw” you liked, right? I don’t have a recipe, really. It’s different every time I make it, but here is what I think went into it when I was there . . .

• a small red and a small white cabbage, thinly sliced
• a sweet onion (a red one or a Walla Walla or Bermuda or Vidalia will do) quartered and very thinly sliced (maybe just half of this onion depending on how much it bites back when you bite into a little piece)
• grated carrots
• I love to add very thinly sliced red, orange, yellow or green bell pepper or a little of each color but I didn’t that night because John’s and the girls’ digestions are disturbed by it.
• I usually use jicama instead of white cabbage when I’m home. It’s readily available here.
• about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro depending on how big your pile of veggies. 

I thinly slice, julienne these all into a large container . . . then I make the dressing which is a vinaigrette type.  Because I don’t measure, I have to guess, but these are approximate proportions and amounts:

•  1/2 cup of oil, extra virgin olive mostly, with a little canola or other flavorless type
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup fresh lime juice and rice vinegar, mixed . . . I think I used 2 limes that night and made up the rest with the vinegar
• a couple teaspoons of honey or sugar (natural is best)
• salt and pepper
• a little cayenne (very little if you’re serving the Brunettes)

Whisk the dressing ingredients together. Pour over the veggies. Toss to coat. Let sit for a few hours in the fridge (or longer) before serving.

Hope this is what you were looking for. If not, write me.

Cheryl

Cabbage is readily available year round, keeps well and makes a good slaw-type salad. It’s a “semi-dense” salad and especially refreshing in hot weather and the warmish weather which is about as hot as we get on the island. 

Here’s one I made recently at home. Cabbage is the base, but whatever “dense veggies” I have on hand can go into it. In this case here are the ingredients sliced and grated to appropriate size:

There is julienned jicama, thinly sliced red cabbage and red bell pepper, grated carrot, chopped cilantro, and chopped scallions/green onions. I happen to love cilantro but not everyone does. You can use parsley instead which is more commonly used in middle and northern European cooking. However, I really do think that the addition of a freshly chopped herb elevates the dish from “cole slaw” to something better.

Notice the combination of colors. Beautiful, no? Beauty is important. 

Then I made the dressing. I generally prefer lime juice for  the “slaw” that has cilantro and jicama, but I had only lemons in the fridge. I juiced two lemons with my mother’s old glass juicer . . .

Put the juice into a liquid measuring cup with some good, extra virgin olive oil . . .

Usually you use about twice as much olive oil as acid (lemon or lime juice or vinegar) but I’m a few pounds up and cheating on the not so much oil side these days.

Add salt and pepper to this mixture . . .

 

Stir this dressing with a fork . . . be energetic about it . . . then pour it over the veggies and toss them all together so that the veggie pieces are coated with the dressing . . .

Let the dressing and vegetables mingle for a few hours before serving. And when you do serve the salad, turn it out into a pretty dish . . .

Beauty counts.

That and it’s delicious.