Cabbage Apple Salad

Cabbage Apple Salad is a light and refreshing side-dish that complements a delicious, but otherwise heavy dinner or makes a great addition to a salad plate or buffet meal.  Crisp cabbage and apples in a lemony vinaigrette just makes the taste buds sing for joy!

We had our church Friendship Supper last night.  This is a meal we prepare once a month and open to the public as a gesture of friendship and fellowship for anyone who would like to attend. The meal is free but many of the lovely people who come to eat often leave a donation if they are able.  We have never requested a donation but we do receive them and are thankful for them.  Anyway, what I was going to say, before that long explanation, was that we served perogies and baked beans and I wanted some kind of lighter salad to serve with the heavier foods.  I didn't want a green salad or regular coleslaw so I went hunting on the internet.  Because perogies are of East European origin I decided I would look for some kind of authentic or authenticish Ukrainian cabbage salad to serve with them.  I eventually found a recipe on AZ Cookbook, It was simple and I could make it without any strange (to me) or unavailable ingredients so I decided this was the salad to serve.  

Dauntless, with recipe in hand, with no pretest,  I prepared a large dishpan full of the aforementioned salad for the supper to be held. I did shred the cabbage and carrots and slice the onions the night before but the actual salad was put together just minutes before it was served.  Fortunately, it proved to be a great success and I barely scraped together a serving when the supper ended.  

I made one addition to the salad (which will probably make it authenticish, rather than authentic).  I added the carrots strips because I had 4 carrots left from making the soup.  They gave the salad a little colour and I suppose a few more nutrients.  There weren't any measurements for the dressing as it was to taste so I measured and tasted and came up with, what I think is, a pleasant flavour.  You can certainly add more lemon juice or oil if you wish.

So here it is--my new favourite cabbage salad!

Printable recipe at end of post.

Cabbage Apple Salad

• 8 cups shredded cabbage, about 1 pound head
• 1 large, crisp apple, peeled or unpeeled and cut into matchstick strips (I used Honeycrisp)
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut or sliced into thin strips, optional
• ¼ cup chopped green onion, white and green parts
• ¼ cup olive, sunflower or vegetable oil 
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste, optional
• 1 or 2 tablespoonful cranberries or partridge berries (lingonberries), fresh or dried, for garnish

How to make it:
Place the cabbage in a large bowl and toss the apple, onions and carrots together with the cabbage. 

Make the dressing by whisking together the oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and sugar together.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss all ingredients to coat. 

Place the salad in a pretty serving bowl and garnish with the sour berries of your choice.  Serve immediately.  If you are making this salad several hours before serving see the note below. 

Makes 8 servings.  

Note: If you are not going to serve the salad immediately take these steps to keep the salad from becoming watery.  Place the cabbage in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon salt. Mix for about a minute and let sit for 15 minutes, to allow the juices to flow. Drain the liquid that gathers by squeezing the cabbage with your hands. Try not to damage the cabbage while doing this.  You can also blot some of the liquid with paper toweling.  When making the salad, leave out the salt until you taste it as it may be salty enough after doing this process. 

Shred the cabbage using a sharp knife or a madoline, carefully avoiding the fingers.  Slice the onions and apple.  Make sure you have a crisp apple like a Honeycrisp or Gala.  Macintosh apples will become mushy.  Add carrots if using.

Whisk the lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper and sugar together to make the dressing.  Pour it over the salad and toss to coat.

I made the carrot strips with this peeler.  I bought it from Ben's fundraising catalogue when he was in Kindergarten.

Taste the salad and adjust for seasonings (salt, pepper, sugar) or more lemon juice.

When the salad is made place it in a nice serving dish and garnish with a few sour berries.  I used dried cranberries.

Lemony, light and refreshing!

To print click on arrow upper right side.⇩