Recipes From the Root Cellar_ 270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables - Andrea Chesman [29]
Kitchen Note: If you don’t have a sweet onion on hand, substitute half of a small yellow onion or a shallot. Don’t use so much onion that it overwhelms the other flavors.
In the night the cabbages catch at the moon, the leaves drip silver, the rows of cabbages are a series of little silver waterfalls in the moon.
— Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)
Crunchy Dilled Coleslaw
Serves 6–8
One of the great mysteries of life is why people leave the last pickle in a jar to languish in the back of the refrigerator for months. The rest of the jar was consumed in a matter of days, sometimes hours. Why does that last pickle remain? This recipe addresses the problem by using up that last pickle. The sunflower seeds combined with the pickle add great crunch to this salad, which is particularly good on sandwiches.
6 cups thinly sliced or shredded green or savoy cabbage, or a mix of green and red cabbage
2 carrots, peeled and shredded
2/3 cup chopped dill pickles
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup brine from the dill-pickle jar
1 tablespoon yellow ballpark mustard
½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Combine the cabbage, carrots, and pickles in a large bowl.
2 Combine the mayonnaise, pickle brine, and mustard in a small bowl and blend well.
3 Add the mayonnaise mixture to the vegetables. Mix in the sunflower seeds. Taste and add salt, if needed, and pepper; it may not need any salt, depending on the saltiness of the brine.
4 Let stand for about 30 minutes before serving, or refrigerate for up to 8 hours and mix well before serving.
Kitchen Note: To toast sunflower seeds, place them in a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Toast, stirring frequently, until the seeds begin to change color, about 5 minutes. Do not let the seeds scorch or they will become bitter.
Sweet-Pickle Coleslaw
Serves 6–8
If your pickle-making tends toward the sweet rather than the sour, you may want to try this coleslaw, which uses bread-and-butter pickles.
6 cups thinly sliced or shredded green or savoy cabbage, or a mix of green and red cabbage
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
½ onion, minced
1 cup bread-and-butter pickles, chopped
¼ cup brine from the pickle jar
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1–2 tablespoons sugar
1 Combine the cabbage, carrot, onion, and pickles in a large bowl.
2 Combine the pickle brine, buttermilk, and oil in a small bowl. Blend well and add to the cabbage mixture, stirring until well blended. Season with salt and pepper and add sugar to taste; it may not need much sugar.
3 Let stand for at least 30 minutes before serving, or refrigerate for up to 8 hours and mix well before serving.
Kitchen Note: Because red cabbage is somewhat coarser in texture than green cabbage, I rarely use it as a base for coleslaw. But using about one-quarter red cabbage and three-quarters green cabbage makes a beautiful salad with perfect texture.
Festive Fruity Coleslaw
Serves 4–6
If ever a coleslaw deserved a place on a holiday table, it is this one. The salad is colorful, delicious, and full of surprise flavors.
6 cups thinly sliced or shredded green or savoy cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced or shredded red cabbage
¼ red onion or other mild, sweet onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup buttermilk
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pistachio nuts, chopped
2 clementines or tangerines, peeled, divided into segments, and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Combine the cabbages and onion in a large bowl.
2 Mix the sugar, buttermilk, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the vegetable mixture and toss to coat thoroughly.
3 Fold in the cranberries, pistachios, and clementines. Season with salt and pepper.
4 Let stand for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate for up to 8 hours, before serving. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper just before serving.
Kitchen Note: Red cranberries and green pistachios