In November when fresh green vegetables are not being harvested in the Northeast US, and your CSA share is heavy on root crops, perhaps, like me, you have a couple heads of plain ol’ cabbage in the refrigerator bin. There are options other than roasting, steaming, or summer cole slaw.
Make this Asian-ish salad with sesame seeds and oil, almonds and perhaps some leftover chicken breast. You can poach some chicken breasts — boneless or bone-in (Boil water and place in chicken; turn off heat and cover; let sit for 15 mins. Voila!)
I just recently discovered rotisserie chicken at my food coop — *is* there a method that produces a more delicious bird?? — and had some breast meat set aside. Carrots are likely to also be on hand to grate in with the cabbage.
Directions:
- Prepare and salt cabbage
Cabbage, 1/2, cut through core, then sliced thinly, discarding core
Place in large bowl and add salt and mush around:
Salt with 1/2 T kosher salt, mushing it in well with hands. Let sit in bowl for 15 minutes. Rinse in bowl and drain. No need to be fanatical about drying it.
2. Toast sesame seeds, if using. (Defrost almonds also if, like me, you store them in freezer.)
Carrot, grated
Scallions, sliced thin, mostly green part
Sliced almonds
Sesame seeds, toasted
Or in summer add snow peas, sliced. Celery would not be amiss here, either.
3. Mix up dressing:
2-3 T c grapeseed oil
Sesame oil, 2 T light; splash of toasted sesame oil; more if you are out of sesame seeds
3 T white balsamic vinegar, or rice wine vinegar
Lemon juice, 1 T
Splash of soy sauce
Or use peanut oil, a la Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois Chicken salad:
Peanut oil, 2-3 T
Rice wine vinegar, 4 T
Soy sauce, 1 t
Sesame oil, light with a touch of toasted, especially if there are no sesame seeds on hand
Optional: dry mustard, 2 t
Honey
Sources:
Ali Stafford Asian Chicken and Cabbage Salad
And Wolfgang Puck’s Chinois Chicken Salad (link is not exactly his recipe, which is in his cookbook Live, Love, Eat! Which is also not exactly what I remember from those most excellent salads served at O’Hare airport many years ago!)
Simply Cook blog 