I was passing the radishes at WinCo and saw how big and beautiful they were, unblemished and at their peak. I could not resist grabbing a bunch. I also got two big heads of cabbage and about a pound of cilantro at the Oregon Food Bank’s Harvest Share so I really needed to figure out something to use them. I remembered how La Sirenita would add slices of radish as a garnish and got this crazy idea of making a Mexican cole slaw. I looked at a few recites for ensalada de repollo, but didn’t find anything that appealed to me.
- 1/2 head of cabbage sliced thin, salted and rested in a colander for 20 minutes. Squeeze out liquid.
Add
- 1/2 red onion sliced thin and chopped
- 4 large radishes sliced horizontal, as thinly as possible
- 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
- Zest from 1 lime (get all the zest you can)
Mix well using blender or Magic Bullet.
- 1 fresh lime, juiced
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 TBSP rice vinegar
- 1 tsp chile powder
- Salt and pepper
So, the traditional ratio for a vinaigrette is 3:1 oil and acid (vinegar) and this is closer to 1:1 with the lime juice. But that’s how I like it, I am happy with just vinegar, but it really needs the oil to make the vinegar adhere to the veggies and suspend all the spices, so I never do 3:1 even if that is the proper ratio. Cooking is about personal preferences and I will use a Magic Bullet to help these emulsify even though the ratio is out of balance. It is what I like. For a more traditional dressing, 3 TBSP of olive oil to 1 TBSP of vinegar.
This is not a single serving because this salad tastes better the second, third and fourth days. It makes 8 to 10 servings. I love this on a tostada with some broiled carne asada.
Single Servings 