I am currently devouring my newest cookbook, Smoke & Pickles, by Chef Edward Lee. The book has an entire section dedicated to pickles and marriage, which is so perfect (especially since our wedding is less than 2 weeks out and my passion for pickles is ridiculously high!). Just the fact that there is a chapter combining two of the best things in life pretty much made my year!
Lee starts the pickles/marriage chapter straight out with kimchi and cabbage. I love his quote: “There is nothing more resourceful than cabbage.” It’s so true. Cabbage is amazing- it can be anything, from kimchi to sauerkraut, to salad, to part of a main dish, like runzas!
Take this Ensalada Repollo recipe for example. It is perfect as a side salad, but it also is a great addition to any meat dish, like the grilled Nicaraguan Beef on a tortilla recipe that’s pictured above. The cabbage is the perfect combination of flavor and texture to round out any meal.
Ensalada Repollo Recipe
The Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans serve this salad at just about every meal. When I lived in Costa Rica I would be incredibly disappointed if it wasn’t served. I am embarrassed to admit though, that I hadn’t eaten it for about 2 years until a Nicaraguan friend came to visit a few weeks ago and completely woke me up and reminded me of how much I loved this simple salad.
The best part is that there aren’t too many ingredients- you might even be able to grab everything but the salt and lime from your garden! Cabbage, green pepper, carrot and white onion all thinly sliced, mixed together and topped with a tomato is the gist of it.
One of the reasons I hadn’t made the recipe in so long so that cabbage has always seemed like such a daunting task to cut. Last year I shredded it for my sauerkraut, and managed to shred some of my fingers in the process. Luckily my dear friend taught me a new and ingenious trick for “shredded” cabbage. A major ‘duh’ moment. While I’m sure most of you are smarter than I am, here’s my newest trick.
Cut the cabbage in half and holding it upside down, so that your hand is on the stem of the cabbage, start slicing from the middle of the cabbage down in thin slices, like pictured above. So much easier than using a shredder. Your muscles and fingers will thank you!
Top all of your fresh garden ingredients with a tomato and you have yourself a delicious Costa Rican cabbage salad!
Remember, this recipe opens the door to all great meals, so feel free to add it to anything and everything!
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- 1/2 Green Cabbage head Thinly sliced
- 1 Tomato Thinly sliced & halved
- 1/2 Onion, White Thinly sliced
- 1 Carrot Shredded
- 3/4 Green Pepper Thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup Lime Juice
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
Ingredients
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- Thinly slice 1/2 of a cabbage and combine with thin onion, carrot and green pepper slices in a medium sized bowl. Mix together and add salt. (Can be done a few hours in advance)
- When salad is ready to be served, add lime juice and top with tomato slices. Add more salt to taste, if desired.