warm red cabbage salad

A book which I had ordered out arrived at my local branch library the other day, so I stopped by to pick it up. On a whim I skimmed the cookbook shelves. A few titles caught my eye, but nothing pressing. I turned to walk up to the check out counter, when one book stopped me. Impetuously, I snagged it off the shelf and checked it out without even opening it.

It’s The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown, based on recipes from Greens Restaurant, widely regarded as the first upscale vegetarian restaurant in the U.S.

Madison’s most popular book is Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone which I own, but I had read somewhere about The Greens Cookbook and was intrigued.

Flipping through the cookbook last night, my eyes tried to briefly skim the table of contents, but lingered over so many recipe titles that I gave up and just started going page by page. Immediately appealing was the recipe for “warm red cabbage salad.” Incredibly delicious is the dish.

Obviously, it contains red cabbage.

Also a clove of garlic, a “crisp red apple,” an onion (it said red onion, but I only had yellow), and a bit of goat cheese.

Do you even stumble upon a recipe for which you, almost by magic, have all the ingredients on hand? Such was this recipe.

Technically I was missing a few ingredients, notably walnuts and walnut oil. I used the pecans I had on hand and olive oil. Would it have been mind-blowing with walnuts? Maybe, but I was hungry. I’m also out of fresh parsley, so dried parsley flakes stepped up, and I skipped the marjoram, which also might have pushed the dish to over-the-top amazing, but there was none in the house.

The first batch I made one quarter of the recipe (serves 4-6, I was home alone), but I had to make seconds. It’s really meant as a salad and not necessarily as a main course, but it was so good that making a main course didn’t appeal as much as a second helping. I’m seriously considering making it again for lunch tomorrow.

Warm Red Cabbage Salad

Adapted from The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
3/4 cup walnut or pecan pieces
2 teaspoons walnut or olive oil
salt and pepper
1 small red cabbage (about 18 ounces)
1 crisp red apple
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
3-4 ounces goat cheese, broken into large pieces
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (or use 1 teaspoon dried parsley)
1/2 teaspoon marjoram, finely chopped (omit or substitute 1/4 teaspoon oregano)

Directions:
1.) Preheat the oven to 350F. Toss the nuts with the oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350F for 5-7 minutes until fragrant. Let cool.

2.) Quarter the cabbage and remove the core. Cut cabbage into thin strips no longer than 3 inches.

3.) Cut the apple into six wedges, remove the core, then cut the wedges lengthwise into thin fans.

4.) Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and the garlic, stirring briefly. Add the onion and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes until the cabbage softens and brightens in color. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

5.) Briefly toss cabbage with apple slices, herbs, nuts, and goat cheese and serve immediately.

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Tagged as: "goat cheese", apples, cabbage, salad