Keep the Cabbage Salads Coming!
Well, folks, as promised, here is what I made with the remaining red cabbage I had left over from the chicken salad I posted last week. There were endless ways I could have gone, but a crunchy side salad to serve with a couple of meals was what I had in mind. Since I was making simple pork cutlets, I thought an orange dressing would be a nice touch.
I’ve mentioned that I keep citrus zests and juices in my freezer, but this time I was out of orange juice. So, this is one time when the container of frozen orange juice concentrate that I keep in my freezer came in very handy. I don’t use it often, but in this case it was the ideal ingredient. It’s intensely orange flavored and sweet, which was exactly what I had in mind for this dressing. I balanced out that sweetness with soy sauce, white wine vinegar, and sesame oil. When I tasted it I realized it needed more depth, so a little maple syrup solved that problem. Olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper finished it off beautifully. You want the dressing to be highly seasoned because the cabbage will taste flat otherwise.
I’ve found that a big and heavy head of cabbage opens up a world of possibilities. I make salads, roasted wedges, cabbage gratins, stir fries, etc. This salad only used a quarter of a big head of cabbage. You could easily double this recipe and have plenty of it on hand to serve during the week with other meals. The salad keeps very well.
Once again I added red onion because I love how it blends so well with the red cabbage. This time I also added dried sour cherries because their sweet, but tart, flavor is so good in salads and I just happen to love them. To play off the cherries, crumbled blue cheese seemed like a natural fit. You could also use goat cheese if blue cheese isn’t your thing. A sprinkling of toasted celery seeds added both flavor and texture and I thought they’d be a good match for the fresh tarragon I used here. I topped it all off with toasted pine nuts. Their buttery flavor is one of my favorites. But you could use toasted walnuts, pecans, pistachios, or hazelnuts. Any of them would be delicious in this salad.
As I’m sure you’ve surmised, I love this salad. It’s a cinch to make, but it is complex in its textures and flavors. And here’s something else I think is important. This platter of salad is really beautiful to look at. And yeah, we do eat with our eyes before we ever take that first bite. A pretty platter of food is irresistible and gets your taste buds energized. It doesn’t take much effort and is worth it for the joy it brings me. When the summer produce is all gone, you can still serve wonderful salads. So, here’s to plenty of cabbage salads coming our way for the upcoming months of winter!
Red Cabbage and Sour Cherry Salad with Orange Soy Dressing
6-8
servingsSliced red cabbage, red onion, dried sour cherries, blue cheese, fresh tarragon, and pine nuts are topped with a dressing made with frozen orange juice concentrate, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil, and olive oil. Talk about a delicious salad!
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Ingredients
- Orange Soy Dressing
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
- Salad
340 g (3/4 pound) approximately 1/4 of a large red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
80 g (1/2 cup)dried sour cherries
114 g (4 oz.) blue cheese, roughly crumbled (I used Point Reyes Original Blue Cheese)
1 teaspoon celery seeds, toasted
37 g (1/4 cup) pine nuts, toasted
4 g (3 tablespoons)fresh tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
Directions
- Orange Soy Dressing
- Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Don’t be shy when adding salt. You want the dressing highly seasoned.
- Salad
- On a big platter, layer the cabbage, onions, cherries, and blue cheese. Sprinkle with the celery seeds, tarragon, and pine nuts. Spoon on the dressing, serve, and Enjoy!
4 Responses
Sounds wonderful! And I have all the ingredients except the sour cherries. May try it with pomegranate seeds. Thanks Renee!
I think pomegranate seeds would be great in this salad, Indira. Thank you!
What a complex group of flavors to put together! I can hardly wait.
I particularly love dried pears…they would be great in this salad, but what would you particularly do with them?
Thanks, Janet! As to the dried pears, I’m not sure I fully understand your question. If you are asking how to use them in this salad, you’d just chop them up and add them as is. They’re not quite as tart as dried sour cherries, so I’d still opt for some cherries as their tartness adds a much needed element to the overall flavor profile. Hope this answers your question!