Red Cabbage Slaw

Novio loves cole slaw, so I make my Dill Cole Slaw a lot. But variety is the spice of life. And I like all kinds of colors making an appearance at our table. Red cabbage is excellent braised, and goes very well with apples. Click here to view Sweet and Sour Cabbage with Apples. It’s also great as a cold salad.

Bill – he’s my brother-in-law who’s the best best brother I could have – loves red cabbage. His mom used to make delicious marinated red cabbage that went really well with meat. It was shredded red cabbage dressed very simply with vinegar, salt and probably a smidge of sugar. My sister Annie dresses red cabbage with a vinaigraitte: white wine vinegar, a little olive oil and Dijon mustard to bring it together. Two good choices… and Bill is a happy camper.

I came across a red cabbage slaw in a blog I love called Sweet Amandine. Jess, the blog’s creator, now has two babies on the way… her first book… and her second little girl. Her writing has endeared her to my heart, and you just might feel the same way, so pay her blog a visit.

She dresses raw red cabbage  with an Asian-inspired cooked dressing and mixes in some shredded green cabbage (Savoy) as well. The original version is called a Winter Slaw and is more complex in its flavors, with macadamia nuts, mint, lemongrass, whole chiles. She came across it in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi, a book that’s on my list. I already have his second book, Jerusalem, and not only does it inspire as a cookbook, but the photography ranks it worthy of the coffee table, where it’s been hanging out for the past several months.

Jess uses lime juice for the acid. I wasn’t sure if I’d have enough with my solo little lime so I placed a lemon on stand-by.

My limey was very juicy.

The recipe calls for whole sesame seeds. White sesame seeds are fairly easy to find in markets. But I made the salad twice in a couple of weeks and used up the little bit I had. I did though, have black sesame seeds which I had found at a large Japanese market.  So I used black because that’s what was in my house. Yes, there  are less than three weeks left to Passover and I’m cleaning and making room. Room for the matzoh and all the the other items that are beginning to collect in my office and it really came upon me suddenly this year. Breathe. Be flexible and do not get stressed out. Am I talking to you or to myself?

But I digress. Here is a very enjoyable salad/slaw for you.

Red Cabbage Sesame Slaw

slightly adapted from Jess’ food blog, Sweet Amandine, who simplified it from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a small saucepan, heat the lime juice, maple syrup and soy sauce. Reduce over high heat (don’t go anywhere) for 5-8 minutes, or until the mixture becomes thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, let cool, and whisk in the two oils and  zest.

Place the shredded cabbage and green onion in a large salad bowl, and toss with the dressing. Add the red pepper flakes, nuts, sesame seeds, and cilantro. Check to see if it needs a little salt. Toss again, and serve.

Serves 4-6.