Crunchy, Tangy Slaw with an Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

My roommate and I have this ritual when we’re deciding on something we want to eat, which consists in enumerating all the adjectives we can think of that best describe what we’re in the mood for, each new one outbidding the previous one. Generally these adjectives, which in the spirit of fun often border on saucy, speak for themselves : when we’re talking about making a mouth-watering, juicy, squeezy (“wait what?? that’s not even a food word!”. I know, but this one is our favorites…), plump, marinated, chicken, we’re already mentally tasting it. Kind of like a food foreplay if you will: instead of an appetizer, we like to create salivating mental images. For example with this salad, the way it played out was I suggested making some kind of “slaw” without all the mayo and KFC side effects, which she enthusiastically agreed with and responded by saying the words fresh and crunchy. That’s when the game was on: citrusy, minty, tangy, fruity, sweet, pungent, crisp, crunchy, raw, asian, exotic, garden-fresh, rooty (“what da??’, I know, at some point we just make this stuff up) and so on….

This goes on for a while until we feel satisfied with our list of adjectives and are convinced there are no more words left in the dictionary to express our inspiration. By this point, we’re pretty much starving. And that’s how the Crunchy, Tangy Slaw recipe title was born. It was a tough title to find, after all I had to pick from a lot of them: crazy slaw? Citrusy salad? Crazy crunchy tangy slaw with a citrusy, sweet, rooty and pungent flavor? How could I find the right title for you to understand the sensational moment your taste buds and teeth will experience when they dig into a forkful of this vegetable awesomeness? This is not any old salad, this is the queen of word-class salads. It has a little exotic-feel to it with the kumquats, ginger, cilantro and mint, so it’s perfect served with an Asian dish (we had it with a Thai chicken curry), a fish ceviche or grilled shrimps for example.

Crunchy, Tangy Slaw with an Orange Balsamic Vinaigrette

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cucumber, quartered and sliced

1/2 of a fennel bulb, sliced into long strips

5 radishes, finely sliced cross-wise

1/4 of a white cabbage head, sliced

1/4 of a red cabbage head, sliced

1 carrot, julienned

3 kumquats, finely sliced cross-wise

1 starfruit, sliced cross-wise

2 scallions, minced

2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

1 teaspoon of ginger, minced

1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped

A handful of mint leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

For the orange-balsamic vinaigrette

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

Juice from 1/2 an orange

1/2 tablespoon of dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Finely chop the red and white cabbage and the fennel into long, thin strips. Using a julienne peeler, peel long strips of carrot. Peel the cucumber and chop into small quarters. Slice the radishes, scallions, starfruit and kumquats crosswise into thin slices. Mince the ginger into very small pieces.

2. Make the vinaigrette: using a magic bullet or a fork and a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, orange juice, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.

3. Toss the salad with the vinaigrette and top with toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro and mint.