A Lovely Asian Slaw

So many slaws! I already went on and on about this last week, so I will spare you the rant. Today I wanted to do creamy sesame noodles with crab cakes and needed something bright, colorful, acidic, and vegetable-forward to round out the lunch menu. This salad was the perfect choice. It would also be a great match for a marinated and grilled flank steak, teriyaki type chicken, or piece of miso marinated fish. So much versatility!

Before you start cooking though, I’m going to shamelessly plug for a tool that I think most cooks can afford and is indispensable if you love and work with vegetables regularly. It is the Benriner Mandoline Slicer and once you get into a routine of using it, you will never look back. It has three blades, two of which do more fancy shreddy type things. The flat blade is perfect for 99% of my needs. Think perfect potato slices for gratins, thinly shaved veggies for gorgeous salads, fine shredding for slaws, identically sized apple slices for tarts...you get the picture. It’s available for under $40 on Amazon and I tell everyone I know who loves cooking to get one.

One final note-every vegetable in this beautiful salad was available at the farm market today, so hooray for the farmers! Now, cook!

Asian Inspired Slaw

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of Green Cabbage, sliced very thinly (use a mandoline if you have one)

1 1/2 cups of Purple Cabbage cut the same way as the green

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion (mandoline) soaked in 2-3 tablespoons of rice vinegar for about 10 minutes

1/2 cup of thinly sliced red pepper (mandoline)

1/2 cup of shredded carrot (either use mandoline to get super thin slices and then cut into fine shreds with a knife, or use the coarse holes on a grater)

1/2 cup of shredded radish (approach the same as carrot)

1/2 cup minced cilantro

2 tablespoons minced chives

Juice and zest of 2 limes

2 tablespoons dark toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons of peanut oil

1 tablespoon of honey

Sriracha and salt to taste

Method

Toss everything together and stick in the fridge to chill for at least 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning.

Green Gazpacho

Green is my favorite color; every shade and hue. It’s also my favorite color for vegetables-I love ALL the greens! As the heat continues on our beautiful island, I’ve taken advantage of the beautiful produce from our island farms, Moor’s End and Bartlett’s, and spun together this green gazpacho, which I serve alongside a delightfully delicious grilled cheese number (Pain D’Avignon French sandwich bread, arugula pesto, homemade aioli, aged Gouda, and farm tomatoes). The acidic, bright and chilly soup is a great foil to that umami bomb of a sandwich.

I don’t know how I’d be able to function without my trusty Vitamix. I’ve become so reliant on it for so many things, especially quick soups. This one is easy, beautiful and delicious. If you have a spare 20 minutes, get yourself moving and make some. Fancy it up in a special bowl or drink it from an old jelly jar, and then tell me how you liked it.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 bunch of scallions, roughly chopped

1 green pepper, roughly chopped

1 large English cucumber, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic clove

1 t cumin

1 t smoked paprika

1/2 t salt

1 C Chicken or Vegetable Stock or Water

3 big handfuls of watercress, spinach, or arugula (or a combo)

1/2 bunch of parsley, minced

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Either Greek yogurt to swirl or toasted pumpkin seeds to sprinkle on top

Method

Combine the first seven ingredients in a strong blender. Pulse a bunch of times until everything is smooth. Add about a cup of water or stock and pulse again a few times.

Add the greens, parsley, olive oil and vinegar. Blend until smooth and thin a bit if necessary. Taste for salt and refrigerate until chilled (or pour into a bowl within a bowl of ice cubes to speed up the process.

Refrigerate until very cold.

Serve and swirl with yogurt, or sprinkle with seeds, or go crazy and do both!