Tangy Coleslaw with Red Onion and Parsley

One of my favorite farmers market purchases during the summer is a nice big head of cabbage. They are usually so big and beautiful, and so inexpensive. Yesterday I saw a nice sized head of cabbage for $1! That feels almost free to me. I am a big cabbage fan so I frequently end up buying a head every couple of weeks through the summer. There is so much you can do with cabbage. I love roasting it with a little olive oil, vinegar and salt. So easy and so delicious and you can eat it hot out of the oven or store it in the fridge and eat it cold throughout the week. 

As much as I love roasted cabbage, during the summer you just have to make a nice big batch of coleslaw every now and then. I love coleslaw, and there are so many different variations that you can play around with. This recipe for tangy coleslaw is a delicious option. It is a little creamy thanks to the Greek yogurt, yet nice and tangy from the cider vinegar. A hint of mustard and some honey for sweetness round out the flavors nicely. I finished it with some minced red onion and chopped parsley for freshness and a little color. Remember this recipe next time you see a nice head of cabbage for sale, you won't regret it!

I don't like my coleslaw to be swimming in dressing, but if you like yours a little saucier, I'd go ahead and double the dressing. How much dressing you need will also depend on the size of your cabbage. Although you can eat this coleslaw immediately after eating it, it only improves with time, so if you have the time, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours, or overnight, to let the flavors meld and it will be even better!

Tangy Coleslaw with Red Onion and Parsley

From Jana

Ingredients

• 1/4 head green cabbage, finely shredded or chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt to taste

Directions

Put your shredded or chopped cabbage in a large bowl. Add the minced red onion and the chopped parsley. Stir to combine. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the cider vinegar, Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, honey, olive oil and salt. 

Pour dressing over cabbage. Toss to combine well. If needed, make a little more dressing and add that to the coleslaw. You can eat immediately, but I've found that the flavors just improve as it sits so if you have time let it rest in the fridge a few hours before serving. 

Warm Brown Rice, Sweet Potato and Roasted Cabbage Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing

This is one of those meals that I wasn't really planning on being anything extra special or turning out as well as it did. That is one of the things I love so much about cooking, coming up with new combinations that surprise me with how good they are. Taking a couple of ingredients that I have never really put together and creating a whole new dish out of them that just works, at least for me anyways!

The other night I just happened to have a few leftovers and random ingredients hanging out in my fridge and thought I better use them up or freeze them before they went bad. I had a general idea about what I was going to do with them, but it sort of evolved as I went along and turned into this wonderfully warm and filling salad, perfect on a rainy and chilly spring night. Sweet and creamy baked sweet potato combined with chewy brown rice, and roasted cabbage, topped with pecans for nuttiness and some dried cranberries for sweetness. A quick dressing of tahini and yogurt finishes the whole thing off and brings it all together. 

I decided to use zaatar for flavoring this salad. I've really been liking zaatar recently. If you don't know what zaatar is, it is a really nice mixture of dried herbs (dried thyme mostly I think), sesame seeds and sumac that is used in the Middle East. If you haven't tried it before I highly recommend it. But this is not a recipe that is set in stone so if you don't have any zaatar go ahead and use something else, you're favorite herbs or spices, whatever you have on hand. I also thought this would be good with a Mexican twist, using chili powder and cumin and throwing in some fresh cilantro, yum! Switching out different dried fruits and different nuts would also be be fun to play with. Cooking is just a great way to let your imagination go wild, so go ahead and have some fun!

Warm Brown Rice, Sweet Potato and Roasted Cabbage Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing

Ingredients 

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1/4 head cabbage, sliced thin
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced thin
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup brown rice (or 1-1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice)
• 2 tablespoons Zaatar spice mix
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Plain yogurt
• Tahini

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place sweet potato on a baking sheet and baked until tender, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the size of the sweet potato. Set aside until cool enough to handle. 

Thinly slice the cabbage. toss with a little olive oil and some salt. Place on a baking sheet and broil until starting to wilt and char, stirring occasionally to evenly cook. This can take anywhere from 10-30 minutes depending on how charred you like your cabbage, and how hot your oven gets. 

While cooking the potato and cabbage, sauté sliced onions in a pan over medium to low heat until very soft and tender. When onions are caramelized to your liking, add the garlic and cook until fragrant. 

Cook the brown rice according to package instructions. Or even better, if you have some leftover rice use that in instead. Add the cabbage and brown rice to the onions and garlic mixture. 

Cut the cooled sweet potato into bite sized chunks. Add to the sauté pan along with the zaatar and cayenne. Give the whole thing a nice stir, adding some water to the pan if needed. Drizzle tahini over the whole mixture to taste and add a couple spoonfuls of yogurt. Stir again to combine well. Taste and season with salt if needed. 

Spoon salad into bowls and top with pecans and dried cranberries.