Chopped Cabbage Salad

You might call this a slaw, though the result is much more like a salad, especially if you take the time to salt the cabbage beforehand, which makes it tender yet still crunchy. The other advantage to not using lettuce is that, like coleslaw, this salad keeps for a couple of days and gets even better over time.

1 small head cabbage (about 1 pound), any kind

Salt as needed

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 small to medium red onion, minced

1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped

¹/₃ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar, or lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish, optional

1 Core the cabbage and chop it roughly. If you’re not salting, skip to Step 2. If you are, put the cabbage in a colander, sprinkle with about 2 teaspoons of salt, and toss. Check in 10 minutes or so to see if the leaves are exuding moisture. If not, add a little more salt and toss again. Let sit an hour or two, pressing the moisture out with your hands once or twice. Taste it; if it’s too salty, rinse and pat dry.

2 Combine the vegetables in a bowl with the cabbage; sprinkle lightly with pepper (and salt if you didn’t salt the cabbage), add the olive oil and vinegar, and toss. Taste and adjust the seasoning, garnish if you like, and serve.

Chopped Cabbage Salad, Asian Style: Instead of the olive oil, use 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 5 tablespoons peanut oil. Substitute lime juice or rice vinegar for the sherry vinegar or lemon juice. Add some minced fresh hot chile and chopped scallions if you like, and use chopped cilantro leaves to garnish instead of the parsley.