I’m not the greatest fan of red cabbage, but during this lockdown it’s become a staple. I managed to grab one from the supermarket a few weeks ago when there wasn’t much veg available (I think the situation seems to have improved now though and hope it has for you too).
Sliced thinly and tossed with grated ginger, olive oil, honey, lemon juice and a dash of apple cider vinegar it creates a crunchy, zesty salad. The secret lies in toasting (really well) lots of seeds – toast up until the point you think they’re about to catch – and tossing them through while still hot.
One red cabbage does two meals. And the first time I served this to my three year old he was dubious but took a reluctant few bites owing to the fact I told him it contains honey and toasty seeds – two of his favourite things. I can gladly report he now wolfs it down.
I adapted the dressing from this Good Food recipe if you want any more ideas. This is the kind of salad where you can throw all sorts of things in: grated carrot, apple chunks, thinly sliced red onion…
Recipe (makes enough to feed 4 as a side dish)
1/2 red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 tsp grated root ginger
1 tsp clear honey
juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
a glug of apple cider vinegar
at least 75g mixed seeds – more if you like
Place a small pan onto the heat and toast the seeds, watching carefully and stirring constantly once hot to make sure they don’t catch. Only take off the heat once they smell wonderfully toasty but before they start to blacken!
Make up the dressing in the bottom of your salad dish. Add the sliced cabbage, throw in the hot, toasted seeds, add a dash of apple cider vinegar and toss well.
Note: This does need seasoning but I season at the table to avoid the little ones having too much salt. I did also add a handful of this into the blender when whizzing up a noodle dish for my 7 month old and he loved it. Winner.
Yum ! Love a bright and fresh salad 🙂 This looks like a super easy side dish. Thanks for sharing – Danielle