Thursday, November 19, 2009

Red cabbage and apple salad recipe

Red cabbage and apple salad, adapted from Dani Spies
When I was planning my pre-Thanksgiving feast, I decided to include a salad so that I could prepare it in advance and save oven space for other dishes.  The last red cabbage salad that I made turned out fabulously, so I decided to give this one a shot.  This brings up an interesting question: last time I made it, I called it purple cabbage... what's your preference - red or purple?

No matter what you call it, the salad was good.  It had a nice crunch, and a great mix of flavors.  Next time I'll use a little bit less onion, but I've been finding raw onion very strong lately (my eyes watered for several hours after cutting Vidalia onions the other day... what's wrong with me?).  I doubled the recipe, and realized that I would have two identical bowls of salad.  I was already trying out tons of recipes, so I thought I might as well try a different dressing on each bowl.  Because I can no longer eat my favorite wheat berry salad, I decided to use a similar version of its dressing.  I preferred this sweet one (#2), but others liked the dilly one better, so I guess you can't go wrong.  I've provided the smaller version of the recipe, so pick a dressing, or put it into smaller bowls and try both.

Red cabbage and apple salad (adapted from Dani Spies, and 2nd dressing inspired by Eating Well)
(Printable version)

1/2 head red (purple?) cabbage, shredded finely
1 red apple (I recommend gala, fuji, or pink lady), diced
1 granny smith apple, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly (next time I'll use about half of this, or maybe none at all)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup toasted pecans

Dressing #1
1 Tbsp dried dill
juice of 2 lemons
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing #2
juice of 4 small oranges (about 1/3 cup)
3 Tbsp strawberry balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp walnut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all salad ingredients in a large mixing bowl (if making well in advance, it's best to add the pecans until serving).  Choose a dressing and mix those ingredients together in a small bowl.  Toss with salad, and ideally refrigerate overnight.  Serves 6-8.

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