I’ve decided, despite the stubborn persistence of my winter wardrobe, that spring is here. And I am marking it with this beautiful salad.
And, well, a new blog post. I have not written in this space for some time, as my sister very kindly pointed out. It is not because I haven’t been indulging in the delights of culinary experiences. Far from it. There was the cheese trail at Borough Market; the buckwheat chocolate pancakes I cooked for supper… with the hot chocolate maple syrup sauce that I most definitely did not eat straight out of the warm jar. There was the walk around Denbie’s Wine Estate; the vanilla fudge experiment that went, um, slightly wrong. Then there was Jade’s spiced apple cake with salted caramel frosting, and the Italian homemade raw honey and pistachio spread that I near inhaled in one sitting, and the late night love affair I’ve been having with dark chocolate truffles, and then… this. Like spring itself; unexpected, yet a colourful, surprising, delightful reminder of life, newness and things bursting into bloom.
It would be something of an understatement to say that I’m not a fan of red cabbage. Ordinarily, just one slither of its bitter crunchiness has me reaching spoon-first for the aforementioned jar of pistachio honey. We don’t get along, red cabbage and I. And yet, having sat so patiently on my kitchen worktop all week, I thought to do something with it. I don’t know what got into me. It must have been the spring air. In any case, once I thinly sliced the cabbage and tossed it with some salad leaves, coriander, apples and some dressing…. it transformed into spring in a bowl. And with that, I am bouncing into Monday morning.
Asha’s spring salad
1 medium sized red cabbage
2 pink lady apples (or other sweet apple variety)
1 handful fresh coriander
3 cups salad leaves of your choice
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
pinch of salt
1 tsp honey
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
4 tbsp olive oil
Thinly slice the red cabbage and the apples. Combine with the salad leaves and coriander.
For the dressing place the vinegar in a jar and the salt. Shake and let stand for two minutes. Then add the honey and the mustard. Lastly, add the oil and shake again. Drizzle over and welcome spring :)