I can't express how happy I am that it's Spring already. After wearing layers and layers of clothes and jackets, we were able to go jacket-free today for the first time in the past 5 months. But it was kind of odd though without the jacket. It felt to me as if I was going topless. I guess I will have this feeling for another couple of days.
I have been preparing a lot of soups this winter. Although I have not posted all the soup recipes here yet, I thought of blogging about this red cabbage and pear salad because it's been a while since I posted any salad recipes here.
Not only does this salad look vibrant and appetizing, but it also tastes good too. Quite different from the salads I'm used to. If it was the old me, I wouldn't have dared to try it. I usually confine myself to familiar ingredients, combinations and tastes.
But it's the "new-me" since the New Year because I have taken a resolution to become daring enough to try different things at least in the kitchen. The original recipe is from Vegetarian Times, but I have made some variations to use the ingredients I had.
Recipe
Red Cabbage and Pear Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 4 cups Red Cabbage, shredded
- 1 cup Pear, cored and thinly sliced
- ½ cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1 and ½ tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Extra-virgin Olive Oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- Salt and Pepper To taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.
- Add the shredded cabbage and sliced pear to the bowl and mix it well.
- Add the toasted walnuts just before serving, mixing it well with the rest of the salad.
- Taste it and season with some more salt and pepper if needed.
My Notes
- To toast the walnuts: heat a frying pan and dry roast the walnuts for about 4-5 minutes. Keep stirring it so that the walnuts don't burn. You should be able to tell by the smell that the walnuts are toasted enough.
- I made this recipe with the above measurements for just my husband and myself and couldn't eat it all because the mouth hurts from all that chewing. So I wouldn't recommend this salad if you are planning to have only the salad and nothing else for your lunch or dinner. This should only be a part of your meal and not the whole meal itself. This is true at least for me. So either halve the measurements if you are going to serve 2-3 people or make the recipe as it is and save some for the next day.
Taste & Texture
- This red cabbage salad is totally different from the usual lettuce salads and nothing like coleslaw. It's crisp, crunchy, mildly sweet and sour. Don't skip or skimp on the toasted walnuts, because it's really the key to making this salad unique and tasty.
Kathleen says
I made this last night for tea and it was simply delish!
Thanks so much! 🙂
Madhuram says
You're welcome, Kathleen.
Radhika Sarohia says
I made this from the Vegetarian Times recipe too [I'm vegan and always looking for cool salad ideas with totally vegan ingredients.]
I agree that the walnuts made this pretty awesome 🙂