Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Chinese Cabbage Slaw with Tangy Apple Vinaigrette

I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite salad dressing. I suppose I have olive oil and lemon juice the most, because it's so fresh-tasting and easy, but there are so many other dressing I like: pomegranate molasses with olive oil, orange juice and red wine vinegar, soy-ginger with toasted sesame seeds, Caeser salad dressing, Italian vinaigrette....I'm getting hungry just writing that down!

But I have to say that this Tangy Apple Vinaigrette would probably have a good shot at being a favorite. It works beautifully on sturdy greens-- in fact, I often use it on cabbage, as you can see in the picture-- and it uses one of my favourite sweeteners, apple juice concentrate. Don't be scared by the vitamin C-- all vitamin C is is asorbic acid (the stuff that makes citrus fruits sour). It makes the dressing tangy without being too liquidy. (In fact, this trick works with a lot of other recipes.) Just open up a capsule and use the powder inside. (Don't use the actual capsule.)

I should note that this dressing was inspired by a (non-blogging) friend.

Tangy Apple Vinaigrette (makes 1 cup)

1/2 cup lemon/lime juice (I use 2:1 lime:lemon)
1/2 cup regular olive oil (or up to 1 cup if you like the tradition ratio of oil:acid in your salad dressing)
1 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
2000 mg vitamin C powder (probably 2 capsules-- but use less if you use more lemon than lime)
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup apple juice concentrate

Mix well.

For Cabbage Slaw:

Use approximately 1/2 cup to 1/2 a head of slivered Chinese cabbage. Stir to coat. Keep at room temperature for a couple of hours, tossing occasionally.

Also, this is one of the best things I did with that seitan:

Quick BBQ Seitan

seitan
bbq sauce

Slice the seitan. Put into a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add enough bbq sauce to coat. Heat until the sauce is bubbling and the seitan is heated through.

Although I try to cook simply, I don't usually cook that simply...but hey, this was actually really good.

2 comments:

sulu-design said...

Wow! I've been unable to catch up on my blog reading for quite a while now as I'm in the middle of a move, and then I stop by your blog and see you're going to Germany?!? Congratulations - spending a year abroad is one of the best things a person can do. You're going to love it. And I loved your salad dressing list in this post. Much more inspired than my usual balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I'll be looking to you for more recipe inspiration, no matter where you're blogging from. Best of luck to you!

vko said...

tangy & tasty- right up my alley- it all looks damn good!