Welcome Back, Cabbage

When I read a New York Times article a few years ago that listed cabbage as one of the “11 Best Foods You’re Not Eating” I thought, “Well, they’re certainly not talking to me.”

I am a cabbage fiend, and you will be too, once you make this insanely-easy-super-healthy-totally-versatile-salad-that will-change-your-life-I-promise.  But let me sing its praises for just a moment longer.  As a singleton, I have noticed that it can be hard, especially in winter, to eat enough raw veggies. I like my salads to have lots of flavor and crunchy texture, and that usually means a lot of different ingredients. But unless all you plan to eat for dinner is a salad (totally reasonable, but not every night, at least for me) then a good crunchy salad with lots of flavor usually doubles your dinner prep time. That can be hard when you’ve had a long day and you mostly just want to put your feet up with a glass of wine and read (or watch) Game of Thrones. But this salad goes with almost any dinner: Asian, Mexican, fish, burgers, ok maybe not spaghetti and meatballs…or maybe so… And notice I call it a salad instead of the somewhat pejorative ‘slaw.’  Oh yes, this is salad, my friends. Pinkies in the air! You can make a huge batch of it and eat it all week. You can eat as much of it as you want if you’re hungry but cutting calories. The ingredients couldn’t be cheaper. And look at that, you can tell the New York Times where to go!

Every Night Cabbage Salad

With a mandolin slicer, cut to desired thinness:

1/2 head green cabbage

1/2 red onion

1 large jalapeno pepper (spicephobes can use any pepper they feel comfortable with)

Everything goes in a nice big bowl.

Add 1/2 cup of medium chopped cilantro (or Italian parsley)

optional adds: roasted pumpkin seeds, hearts of palm, shredded carrots, green onions, etc.

Toss with 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper (the salt and the vinegar will work to soften the cabbage slightly and you will notice the volume will reduce in your bowl, but it won’t actually wilt for several days in the fridge)

Eat it on tacos (pictured above), or as a substitute for rice with a Thai curry, or mixed in with rice noodles and peanut sauce, or on a burger, etc. Enjoy!