Red Cabbage Kumquat Slaw

There is a red cabbage staring at me in the refrigerator bin.  I always buy them in winter because they are beautiful and then they sit in my refrigerator waiting for me to tackle the challenge of using a whole cabbage! 

I’m trying to make friends with my mandoline and not lose any fingers in the process.  I will admit to snobbery in buying the “professional” model.  I have the biceps to prove it – great exercise!  I understand from reading various articles that many people enjoy a cheaper Swiss version of this gizmo which is supposedly easier to use.  I should hope so!  The mandoline seems to leave too many ends of vegetables that won’t quite get inserted into the blades.  A lot of waste for the money, or I don’t understand the technique required.  By the time I nibble all the vegetable ends I have no capacity left for the final production.  I suppose I could use the little bits for soup stock.  Another answer to the shredding would be the shredder disk on the cuisine art, or, heaven forbid, cutting by hand – easy for the cabbage, not so for the daikon and carrot.

Kumquats are making a winter appearance at the market and were included for a burst of flavor and color.  Anyway, the end result is tasty, very raw, very healthy, and keeps for a few days as well – a nice winter solution to the missing healthy raw veggies of summer.

Red Cabbage Kumquat Slaw

1/2 organic red cabbage in thin shreds
1 C finely shredded organic carrots
1 C finely shredded organic daikon (icicle radish)
12 kumquats in thin slices

Dressing:
2 T organic sesame oil (not toasted)
1 T organic canola oil
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 T pomegranate champagne vinegar
3 T brown rice vinegar (or California yuzu rice vinegar)
2 tsp sweet white miso
2 T agave syrup
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Melinda’s hot sauce
2 T meyer lemon juice (orange or lime or regular lemon OK)
2 T grated fresh ginger root

Place all shredded ingredients and kumquats in a large bowl.  Whisk dressing ingredients together and mix into salad.  Allow to rest at room temperature for an hour before serving to deepen flavors.  Toss occasionally to distribute dressing.

Note:  These dressing ingredients are very flexible.  Play with the flavors to get a nice balance of acid, sweet, salty, and spicy.  Flavored vinegars of many varieties can be used.  Miso is added for it’s pungency, but also for it’s health value.

Comments

[Hillary]

This is so pretty and colorful! Nice job!

[Coffee and Vanilla]

Hi,

I'm hosting AFAM - kumquats this month, today is the last day and I would love to have this recipe as your entry.

http://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=2011

Thank you, Margot