Sweet and Spicy Slaw

When I see a big, gorgeous, head of red cabbage like the one that was in our CSA box a couple of weeks ago, my first thought is slaw. I just checked, and I’ve posted about slaw almost as many times as I’ve posted about scones, but here’s one more that’s very worth considering for Memorial Day weekend or any summer party. It’s from Plenty, and the recipe is also available online. Like most things from that book, this brings together flavors I might not have thought to combine but that obviously belong with one another. The original recipe name is Sweet Winter Slaw, but since I made it in the spring and for me it’s really about the mix of sweet and spicy, I renamed it. I also made a few changes to the ingredient list based on what I had available. First, rather than mixing Savoy cabbage and red cabbage, I used mostly red cabbage and added some thin julienned pieces of kohlrabi which also came in the CSA box. Next, instead of using mango and papaya strips for the sweet aspect of the dish, I cut thin strips of our first-of-the-season peaches. Other than that, I followed the instructions exactly for the lime juice, lemongrass, maple, and sesame dressing and the sweet-spicy caramelized macadamia nuts. With cabbage, fruit, nuts, chiles, and herbs, this is a slaw that hits all of your taste buds. 

The first step is to make the dressing. Lime juice, a lemongrass stalk from my herb garden, some maple syrup, a little sesame oil, soy sauce, and red chile flakes were simmered in a saucepan until reduced and thickened a bit. That was set aside until cool and then strained into a bowl. Olive oil was whisked into the dressing mixture. Next, the macadamia nuts were toasted in a frying pan before butter was added and melted and then sugar, salt, and more red chile flakes were stirred into the mix. Once the nuts were coated, they were spread on parchment paper to cool before being roughly chopped. For the slaw, I used shredded red cabbage, julienned kohlrabi, strips of peaches, thin slices of chiles, and chopped mint and cilantro leaves. The dressing was drizzled over the slaw, some of the nuts were added, and it was tossed to combine. I saved a few nuts to sprinkle on top after placing the slaw in a serving bowl. 

This is a slaw with a lot of crunch with all those raw vegetables and the nuts. And, the flavors play amazingly well together. The fruit mitigates the bitterness of the cabbage, and the chiles keep the fruit from being too sweet while the sweetness calms some of the heat. It’s all just meant to be. I hope you try it. 

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