Saturday, June 5, 2010

Breakfast and Slaw (separately)

 

Sourdough Toast with Peanut Butter, Banana, and Nutmeg; Earl Grey Tea with Coconut Milk

*


When I first put this salad together, I thought it was a disaster: it was far too salty, and just not very interesting.  However, the following day the overwhelming saltiness was gone, the cabbage was slightly more wilted by the salt, and the other flavors had blended in with each other and gotten stronger.

I'd kicked myself for preparing this salad exactly according to the recipe on Smitten Kitchen.  Had I been following my intuition, there's no way I would have used a tablespoon of salt.  Still, I'm guessing you need quite a bit of that salt to do the "cooking"/tenderizing.  The author of Smitten Kitchen suggests that you could rinse the cabbage after the initial salt preparation stage, but I think next time I'll just use less.  But in the end, this tasted great the way it was.

Also, this salad is worth chopping well.  I was sloppy, and it's just not as nice.  This matters more, I think, in simple and/or raw recipes.

Cabbage and Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts
(from Smitten Kitchen, changes italicized)

1/2 small red cabbage, trimmed, cored, and shredded (about 6 cups)
1/2 small green cabbage, trimmed, cored, and shredded (about 6 cups)
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1 bunch fresh baby spinach, stemmed and cut into 1/2-inch wide ribbons (about 4 cups loosely packed)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 small limes)
1 tablespoon Dijon or other salty prepared mustard
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8-1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a large bowl, toss the shredded red and green cabbage with the salt, massaging the cabbage a bit until slightly lime and shiny.  Transfer the cabbage to a colander and let it drain.  Return to bowl and add the spinach. In a pyrex, whisk the lime juice, mustard, cumin, and oil together.  Toss the salad with the dressing and add the roasted peanuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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