Every once in a while I get a craving for some cabbage. It only happens every five years or so, but last weekend was one of those times. This is a big deal in our house because BeeBop absolutely detests cabbage. Thinks it is of the devil. Believes it smells like the contents of the septic tank. So, when I came home with several in my grocery shopping on Friday, he gave me the sideways look. You know – that side-eye glance that says “I can’t believe you have brought this into our home.”
My intentions were to make a recipe that I’d seen Jamie Oliver prepare on one of his shows that involved cooking a smoked ham hock and then adding to the broth a combination of potatoes, celery, turnip roots, carrots, green and red cabbages. On the show it looked delicious! I even thought, “My goodness this could definitely be a Southern recipe with the smoked ham hock and cabbage.” I really talked it up to BeeBop and stressed how there were lots of other ingredients besides the cabbage that he could enjoy. He gave me that sweet smile of his and said, “Well you know I’ll try anything once.”
I was really excited about that recipe and spent several hours on Sunday afternoon making stock, peeling and chopping vegetables. The colors were bright and beautiful. The aroma was fantastic. It looked delicious. We sat down to eat, took about two bites each and… decided we should have called for a pizza. Blech. It was an epic failure.
The only good thing was that I had some red cabbage left over so I could make this light and tangy red cabbage slaw. This slaw doesn’t use any mayonnaise so it has very few calories and is easy to transport even in warmer weather. I served it with barbecued chicken and potato salad last night, but you can use it any time you would serve a mayonnaise-based coleslaw.
And, no, BeeBop didn’t even taste it. That fellow just really doesn’t “do” cabbage.
1 medium head red cabbage, grated, shredded or chopped
1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 large carrots, grated
3-4 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons celery seed
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Start by preparing your vegetables. Remove the outer leaves and core from the cabbage. Shred, chop or grate the cabbage. Whichever you prefer. Put the cabbage in a large bowl.
Slice the bell pepper very thinly and add it to the bowl. Grate the carrots and finely chop the green onions and add them as well.
Add the vinegar, celery seed, mustard and sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. I use about a 1/2 teaspoon of each. Stir well so that all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Let the slaw sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Leftovers refrigerate well.
Enjoy!
Red Cabbage Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 medium head red cabbage, grated, shredded or chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 large carrots, grated
- 3-4 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons celery seed
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon dry mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Core and remove outer leaves from cabbage. Shred or grate cabbage as you prefer. Place shredded cabbage in a large bowl.
- Slice the bell pepper very thinly and add to the bowl; grate carrots into the bowl. Finely chop green onions and add them as well.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Stir well to mix thoroughly. Let slaw sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Leftovers refrigerate well.
Notes
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Other cabbage slaw recipes you might enjoy from around the internet:
- Red Cabbage Slaw from Taste of Home
- Real Simple’s Tangy Red Cabbage Slaw
- A “copycat” recipe for the KFC Coleslaw on Food.com
I know exactly how you feel after spending hours in the kitchen, coming forth with something you had such high hopes for, which just failed miserably. I know. Oh how I know. By the way, cabbage is one of my husband’s favorite vegetables and I serve it often. He feels the same way about corn as your man does about cabbage. Funny.
I love slaw. Everything happens for a reason doesn’t it? It’s so aggravating to spend hours working on something in the kitchen only to be disappointed – been there, done that, one too many times!
That situation happens to me more often than not …. but I still keep tryin’ :)
That cabbage slaw is so photogenic! I want to make it just so that I can take a picture! LOL
Thanks, Wendy! I wish the big food photo sites agreed with you on the picture. It was a reject….just one to add to my collection of many :-)
The first recipe did sound fabulous. What a huge disappointment. But, the slaw looks so tasty I may have to buy a red cabbage this weekend! [email protected]
It really did sound great. I even went on YouTube and watched the episode where he made it twice so that I’d be sure I had it right. I was so disappointed, not only by the recipe but by the amount of money for all the ingredients that went down the drain!
don’t you just hate it when that happens, I’ve just about cut out trying recipes from the tube -they look good but seldom are – never been a big fan of Jamie’s personality …. love a good vinegar slaw esp with grilled meats, this one sounds great
You’re so right about that, Drick. I’m ready to give up making TV recipes, too. They’ve failed me too many times now.
Awww well it’s nice that a failed recipe led to such a pretty salad! I love the bright colors in this… It looks delicious, too :)
Judgment day for that big red cabbage in the icebox. Went online for a red cabbage slaw recipe. Found many, read a few, then settled on this one, why? Because the web page is so darn nice! And the subject recipe has such nice neighbors, like country fried steak and cheese grits and and fried catfish, and chicken and dumplings and . . . and . . . and the red slaw recipe here looks (by the list of ingredients) to be just what I was looking for. Thanks a lot and good luck with everything.
ps I even called my wife over to take a look at all the process step photos and the final photo, all so well done!
So glad you found a recipe you like for that red cabbage! And I hope you’ll return to the blog again. Thanks for the lovely comment!