This humble dish accompanied most of our meals this past weekend, adding a nice purple color to our dishes. Salads and slaws of any kind are great for summer, when it is so hot and sticky that your palate often craves the crunch and coolness of fresh vegetables and fruits. Personally I am a little skeeved out by the mayo covered cole slaw often served at diners, so I wanted to try a non-mayo recipe and this one from Mark Bittman is pretty great. The slightly spicy taste brought by the peppers (in my case I used guindilla – slightly more than one tablespoon) gives the cabbage an exciting flavor, something not often experienced when eating cabbage.
Dijon Vinaigrette Cabbage Slaw
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 small garlic clove minced
1 tablespoon of minced fresh chile like jalapeño, serrano, padron, or guindilla
1/4 cup of olive oil
6 cups of shredded red cabbage
1 large red pepper shredded
1/3 cup of scallions
chopped parsley or mint leaves for garnish
In a small bowl whisk together the Dijon mustard, vinegar, and minced garlic and peppers. Slowly add the olive oil while whisking.
In order to shred the cabbage you will first need to remove the wilted leaves on the outside of the cabbage head. Then cut the cabbage in half life the picture below. Use the tip of your knife to remove the core. Sometimes it makes it easier to remove the core if you cut the two cabbage pieces down the middle one more time. Now you can cut the cabbage into thin slices, cut-side down.
In a larger bowl mix the shredded cabbage with the red pepper and scallions. Mix in the Dijon vinaigrette and toss. You can always garnish with chopped parsley or mint on top.
