Recipe: Light and Bright Coleslaw

I am pro-cabbage.  Among other reasons (it’s nutritious, it’s versatile, it’s tasty), I’m a fan because of how cost-effective it is as a cooking ingredient.  Cabbage is generally inexpensive to buy to begin with, but then you get it home, cut into it and I swear it multiplies.  I mean, am I the only one to cut off a wedge, slice it up, only to shortly thereafter find that I have cups full of shredded cabbage in front of me, plus half the head still hanging out, untouched, on my counter??  That stuff just grows as you use it.  I think it could possibly be magic.

Clearly, I’m always amazed at how much use I can get out of a single head of cabbage and my inner grocery budget-monitor always does a little dance of joy.

Such was the case when I put together this coleslaw.

Coleslaw is not something that I normally gravitate towards.  First of all: creamy coleslaws?  Boo.  Not for me.  If I’m going to make one, it’s going to be a slaw dressed with a lighter vinaigrette, for sure.  Even then, I usually would rather have a bowl of leafy greens.  But with a partial head of cabbage languishing in my refrigerator and my baked beans in need of a side dish, I decided to take coleslaw making into my own hands and put together a fresh recipe that would be exactly what I wanted it to be – light, fresh, and brightly flavored with a little jalapeño-kick.

It turned out to be a successful venture as a table full of coleslaw naysayers ate it with surprised satisfaction.

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Light and Bright Coleslaw

A Move Eat Create Original Recipe    

Serves 4 as a side dish 

 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of shredded green cabbage
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips, about 2 inches long
• 1 jalapeño, seeds left in (or removed if you’re sensitive to heat), cut into thin half moons
• ¼ cup minced red onion
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tblspn apple cider vinegar
• 1 tblspn mildly flavored oil
• 2 tlbspns chopped cilantro
• 2 tspns agave nectar
• ½ tspn ground cumin
• ½ tspn dried oregano
• ½ tspn kosher salt
• 1/8 tspn black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine the cabbage, bell pepper, jalapeño, and onion in a large bowl.  Set aside.
2. Combine all other ingredients and mix well to combine.  Pour dressing over vegetables and toss well to coat.
3. Let sit in your refrigerator for at least one hour in order to allow the flavors to come together.  Taste and adjust for seasoning before serving.