I’m eight days out from being able to chew again (I mean, who’s counting, really) and boy am I excited. While dutifully eating my puréed soups, fruit smoothies and extra-calorie Ensures, I’ve been torturing myself watching the Food Network and scrolling through my almost exclusively food-centric Instagram feed. While I won’t be able to dive directly into a T-bone next week, I’m working out some easy, soft recipes (fish, pasta, eggs) to get started on. It’s utterly exhilarating.
I’ve generally kept out of the kitchen for the past month. It’s just been too difficult to cook without being able to really taste along the way, although I did do the chopping prep for soups my mom prepared for me. Over the holiday weekend, however, I got back in my own kitchen for the first time since surgery. I had two goals- to make a green “gumbo” that I’d then purée and freeze for future dinners, and to make this fantastic Asian-inspired coleslaw for a couple of extra-special 4th of July guests. While I may have overdone it in the kitchen given my current energy level (I ended up slicing my pinky on the mandolin), I turned out two delicious dishes.
Obviously I couldn’t eat the coleslaw, but I’ve made it twice before. Last summer I found myself in possession of an abundance of red cabbage and was looking for a recipe to help me use it up. I came across this salad from The New York Times and it knocked me off my feet. I made it again for my house-warming party in the early fall. So it seemed an obvious side dish for a casual late lunch of hot dogs on the grill.
There are a number of things that make this salad great. First of all, it’s beautiful. Red cabbage is a bright, summery color, and it’s highlighted throughout with gorgeous julienned red radishes and pops of green cilantro. It just looks like something you want to have on your plate. More importantly, it’s really tasty in a subtle but interesting way. The dressing is vaguely Asian, yes, thanks to the addition of fish sauce and seasoned rice vinegar, but some of its other ingredients lend a hint of depth that’s not quite as obvious – in particular, walnut and grapeseed oils. Taken all together and sprinkled with some toasted chopped walnuts, this salad has exciting but balanced flavors that make it the perfect side to casual summer meals, like burgers and dogs from the grill. Get this into your outdoor summer eating rotation immediately!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon agave syrup
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- Salt to taste (optional)
- 3 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- 2 tablespoons walnut oil
- 1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
- 8 cups finely shredded red cabbage (1 medium cabbage, quartered, cored and finely sliced)
- 1/2 cup slivered cilantro leaves with top parts of stems (lay down bunch and cut across the bunch)
- 1 cup julienned radishes
- 1-2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger, to taste
- 1 cup lightly toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, rice vinegar, agave syrup, fish sauce, salt (if using) and oils.
- In a large bowl, combine red cabbage, cilantro, radishes, ginger and 1/3 cup of the nuts. Toss together, add dressing and toss together again. Refrigerate until ready to serve and toss again before serving.
- Mound the slaw in a bowl or on a platter. Top with remaining toasted nuts just before serving.
Notes
From The New York Times
