Silence makes coleslaw.

Silence Dogood here. This Friday, I got the season’s first head of cabbage from our CSA, Quiet Creek Farm. I also got scallions (green onions), radishes, cilantro, and fennel fronds. We happen to love braised cabbage, but it’s high summer, and for us, that means it’s coleslaw season. (For us Southerners, that’s just “slaw.”)

I decided a whole cabbage head gave me leeway to experiment with a coleslaw variant of my own and an alternate. After looking into my cookbook collection, I was inspired by a slaw recipe in Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables by John Peterson that uses cilantro and chives with olive oil and white vinegar. So I built on that to make a customized slaw that uses cilantro, scallions, and fennel fronds in a vinaigrette base, balancing the creamier dressing of the first recipe. Try both and tell me what you think!

               Silence’s Green and Gold Slaw

1/2 head freshly harvested green cabbage, shredded

1/2 large sweet onion (Vidalia, WallaWalla, or 1015 type), diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

2 generous handfuls yellow wax beans, washed, stem ends removed, and cut in thirds

1/2 fennel bulb, chopped

3 radishes, minced

1-2 tablespoons whole caraway seeds

1-2 tablespoons whole fennel seeds 

1/2 bottle pepper ranch salad dressing

3 tablespoons lemon juice

Put shredded cabbage, radishes, yellow bell pepper, yellow wax beans,  fennel, and onion in a large bowl; stir with a heavy wooden spoon to mix thoroughly. Add caraway and fennel seeds and lemon juice; mix well. Finally, add pepper ranch dressing and mix until all ingredients are thoroughly coated. Refrigerate overnight, or at least for several hours, and stir again to mix before serving.

         Coleslaw with Cilantro and Scallions

1/2 head freshly harvested  green cabbage, shredded

1 large bunch scallions (green onions), chopped

1 large bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

4 stems fennel tops, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 tablespoons Trocamare or Real Salt (or salt of your choice)

1 tablespoon mixed hot red and black pepper, ground

1/4 cup sherry vinegar or more to taste

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil or more to taste 

In a large bowl, mix cabbage, red bell pepper, scallions, cilantro, and fennel. Stir in seasonings and oil and vinegar, mixing thoroughly. Refrigerate overnight, then stir thoroughly to mix flavors before serving.

Okay, these are my latest and greatest. What are yours?

        ‘Til next time,

                 Silence

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