I thought this was a nice option for using up the rather large head of Napa cabbage I’d bought to make kimchi – and the recipe was simple – cabbage, radishes, celery and buttermilk dressing! Of course, I was fresh out of radishes and buttermilk – but why let little details stop me?
In place of the radishes, I added English cucumber and scallions, and I think they worked well – tho’ the radishes would have provided a nice touch of red to the salad. Lack of buttermilk was no problem – with milk, lemon juice and five minutes, I had a perfect substitute. In the end, we had a fine salad – sort of, kind of a ‘slaw’ – but not as sweet, which was a good thing, since that’s what Rich doesn’t like about slaw. Thanks to Lillian Chou and the kind folks at Epicurious and their search engine (and, of course, all praise da Google).
INGREDIENTS
Salad:
•1 pound Napa cabbage,
cored and thinly sliced crosswise (4 cups)
•6 radishes, diced (I used English cucumber and scallions)
•2 celery ribs, thinly sliced diagonally
Dressing:
•1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
•2 tbsp mayonnaise
•2 tbsp cider vinegar
•2 tbsp minced shallot
•1 tbsp sugar
•3 tbsp finely chopped chives
Whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, shallot, sugar, 1/2 tsp each salt, and pepper in a large bowl until sugar has dissolved, then whisk in chives.
Some comments suggested, and I think it would work well, adding blue cheese and/or a dab of sour cream to the dressing. I wouldn’t say no to adding some pecans, either.
Toss cabbage, and veggies with the dressing and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or even overnight – the cabbage won’t wilt in the dressing as would lettuce. I didn’t add all of the dressing this recipe made, I tossed it all together with enough to coat and kept the rest in reserve in a jar to add later if needed. Nice. Even better, I think, next time with the blue cheese and some freshly roasted pecans.
OH! And maybe dried cherries – NOW we’re talkin’ salad…