Purple cabbage salad with citrus fruits and salted almonds

There’s still a couple of months till all the different types of delicious lettuce will be abundant and in season, so even though I’m right about tired of winter veggies, I’ll continue with the hardier cabbage and kale salads for a bit still. Luckily this fruity purple cabbage salad with citrus fruits and salted almonds is absolutely everything you’ll want in a salad – it’s got crispy, yet tender veggies, sweet and tangy citrus fruits, aromatic ginger, chili and cilantro and crunchy salted almonds. It’s SO good!

The salad works well with most sources of protein – try it with things like beef or lentil patties, roasted chicken/turkey/duck, salmon and white fish, throw in a handful of shrimps – heck, leftovers are great with a fried egg for breakfast too!

You don’t need mayo to love cabbage

I talked about the good ol’ massage in this kale salad recipe – and the same applies here; if you want to love cabbage salads (and not necessarily as mayo drenched slaws) you’ve got to get in there and get your fingers dirty.

Massage the sliced cabbage with oil and salt and it will turn soft, tender and so yummy!

Simply prepare your cabbage (in this case thinly sliced, I prefer to use my mandolin), pour over some good quality oil and ditto salt and massage away with your fingers. Just a minute or two. This will tenderize the cabbage and make the color and flavor pop!

Use what you have

Massaged cabbage (either purple or regular white) is a great base for a variety of delicious salad combinations.

If you haven’t got pomelo, you can use grapefruit instead (pomelo taste like a mild type of grapefruit btw). If you’re not in the mood for citrus fruits use thinly sliced apple and maybe some blueberries. Pineapple or mango are delicious too!

No leeks? No problem! You can use scallions instead or try thinly sliced red onion (the latter looks so amazing mixed with white cabbage).

As for the crunchy goodness you can use any type of nut or seed – my favorite go-to’s when not using almonds are salted cashews or sunflower seeds.

There’s basically just so many ways to mix things up depending on what ingredients you have on hand and what you feel like eating.

Purple cabbage salad with citrus fruits and salted almonds

This fruity purple cabbage salad with citrus fruits and salted almonds is absolutely everything you’ll want in a salad – it’s got crispy, yet tender veggies, sweet and tangy citrus fruits, aromatic ginger, chili and cilantro and crunchy salted almonds. It’s SO good!

Servings 3-4 people (depending on other side dishes)

Ingredients

Cabbage salad

• 1 small head of purple cabbage, very thinly sliced (I prefer to use my mandolin – it takes no time!)
• Mild-tasting extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and fine grain pink Himalayan salt
• 1 large leek – use only the green part, very thinly sliced (I prefer to use my mandolin)
• 1 pomelo, segmented and cut into bite-size chunks (if you haven’t tried to peel and segment a pomelo before, there’s plenty of useful tutorials on Youtube)
• 1 large orange, segmented (if you haven’t tried to segment (or fillet) an orange before, there’s plenty of useful tutorials on Youtube – you can peel and cut the orange in bite-sized pieces too, but the segments without pith and membranes are more delicate for both taste and presentation)
• 1-2 red chili(s), ribs and seeds removed and very finely diced
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger (use less, if you don’t like it to gingery), peeled (see the easiest way to peel ginger here) and finely grated
• 1 large handful cilantro, finely chopped

Salted almonds

• Ghee or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 C / 150 g almonds
• Fine grain pink Himalayan salt or sea salt

Instructions

Cabbage salad

1. Combine sliced cabbage, a drizzle of olive oil and a generous sprinkle of salt in a big bowl and massage, using your fingers, for a minute or so (read description above).
2. Add a squeeze of lemon juice (I typically use the juice of 1/2 lemon) and toss well.
3. Arrange the massaged cabbage on a serving plate or in another bowl – there’ll be excess fluid in the mixing bowl, that you don’t want in the finished salad.
4. Add remaining ingredients to the cabbage and toss lightly.
5. Taste the salad – anything missing? Add more oil, acid or salt if necessary (remember that salty almonds will be added too!).

Salted almonds

1. Add some ghee or olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium heat.
2. Add the almonds and cook until slightly browned and aromatic.
3. Sprinkle with a good amount of salt and toss well.
4. Transfer almonds to a plate and let cool.
5. Once almonds are cooled, chop coarsely.

Assemble the salad

1. Sprinkle salad with salted almonds right before serving.

Storage and shelf life

1. The salad stores well in the fridge for 1-2 days – the almonds will soften, if sprinkled on the salad.

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