Saturday, February 13

Recipe: Napa Cabbage Broccoli Slaw with Brussels Sprouts, Radishes, and Creamy Dijon Dressing


This crunchy winter salad is my new true love.

A bowl of raw cruciferous vegetables for Valentine's Day? Considering this is a holiday that traditionally revolves around champagne, candy, and sinfully rich chocolate desserts, I realize it may not sound all that romantic. But if you're planning on keeping your sweetheart around for the long haul, a healthy serving of this crunchy winter slaw might be just what the love doctor ordered. (I can't believe I just wrote love doctor—and didn't delete it.)

Besides being scrumptious and good for you, this slaw isn't super filling, which means you'll still have plenty of room for that chocolate dessert (some of my favorites are listed below). And it even goes well with champagne. Of course I think pretty much everything goes well with champagne, but I'm a hopeless romantic—who also happens to adore her vegetables.


Most of the time, I'm pretty low tech in the kitchen. I enjoy kneading bread dough by hand, I haven't used my two 5-quart commercial mixers in a decade, my Osterizer Deluxe chrome blender is from the 1940's, and it took me over a year before I worked up enough courage to take my big new food processor out of the box (and immediately fall in love with it).

It just seems like I can usually prep whatever I need by hand in a fraction of the time it takes to lug some machine out of the pantry, set it up, use it, wash it, and lug it back. My one exception, as many of you know, is my beloved KitchenAid hand blender, which I believe is one of the greatest inventions on the planet (and which cleans up in a flash and doesn't require any lugging).

I find that the act of chopping vegetables can often be rather meditative. And besides, who doesn't enjoy wielding a sharp knife? But while I was reading through the long paragraph of cutting and slicing instructions on the original recipe, I had an epiphany: I could just cram all this stuff through my new food processor! And so I did. And it was fun.



Say I love you with a big helping of antioxidants!


Napa Cabbage and Broccoli Winter Slaw
Makes about 7 cups - Adapted from Gluten Free Girl and the Chef

**Click here to print this recipe**

I skipped the celery in the original version and added some zippy and colorful radishes (which are really
easy to grow) to the mix instead, so I got to use the slicing disk and the shredding disk. I then tried shredding some of the Napa cabbage just to see what happened. Don't try this. I also added some yogurt to the mayonnaise dressing for more tang and fewer calories.

After I took these photos, I mixed a handful of raisins and chopped roasted almonds into some of the slaw. Do try this. A couple of shredded carrots would be nice in here, too, and next time I might toss in some chopped scallions.

As always, I urge you to seek out
local and organic ingredients whenever you can; they really do make a difference. A digital kitchen scale for weighing ingredients is a worthwhile investment that will last for years; I love my Oxo 11-pound scale and often use it several times a day (it's great for weighing postage, too!).

For the dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I'm a Hellman's/Best Foods girl)
1/2 cup yogurt (I use lowfat—
homemade yogurt is wonderful stuff)
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
4 Tablespoons rice vinegar (I use seasoned)
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For the slaw:
1 pound Napa cabbage (about 1/2 smallish head)
1 pound broccoli (about 1 medium head or 2 smallish crowns)
1/2 pound brussels sprouts (about 12 small), outer leaves removed, ends trimmed
1/2 pound radishes (about 7 large), ends trimmed

Optional additions:
A couple of shredded carrots
Chopped scallions (green onions)
Chopped roasted and salted almonds
Raisins or dried cranberries (craisins)

Make the dressing:
Combine the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, and rice wine vinegar in a small dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make the slaw:
Cut the Napa cabbage and broccoli into pieces that will fit through your food processor's chute and process using the slicing disk, along with the brussels sprouts. Switch to the shredding disk and process the radishes (and carrots, if using). Alternatively, use a knife to thinly slice the cabbage, brussels sprouts, and radishes, and cut the broccoli into bite size pieces.

Place all the vegetables in a large bowl and toss with the dressing, along with any of the desired optional additions. Salt and pepper to taste.

Hungry for more? Eat your veggies raw:

Radish, Scallion, Feta Cream Cheese Spread/Dip
All Purpose Arugula Cottage Cheese Dip/Spread/Sauce/Whatever
Full Flavor, Low Fat Fiesta Cottage Cheese Veggie Dip
(and factory tours)
Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw & Fast Vegetarian Soft Tacos
Healthy Swiss Chard Tuna Salad with Scallions & Kalamata Olives
Swiss Chard Cabbage Salad with Garbanzos, Broccoli Stems & Cottage Cheese
Quick and Easy Gazpacho
(cold tomato vegetable soup)

And your veggies cooked:

Quick Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Lemon and Parmesan
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Onions, Apples & a Hint of Orange
Roasted Leek and Potato Soup with Arugula or Spinach
Caramelized Beets with Garlic
(these are amazing)
Kohlrabi Purée (one of my favorite foods—seriously)
Hot Swiss Chard Artichoke Dip
Swiss Chard Artichoke White Pizza
Carrot Herb Rolls
(and a beautiful bread book for beginners)
Homemade Tomato Vegetable Juice (like V-8 juice, but much better)

Bring on the chocolate!

Chocolate Biscotti for Beginners
Fast Emergency Chocolate Loaf Cake
Chocolate Babycakes with Mocha Buttercream Frosting
Baby Shortbread Bites with Mini Chips and Toffee Bits
(so easy!)
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (and how to hug a sheep)
Yip Yap Chocolate Chip Organic Banana Snaps
Chocolate, Cinnamon, and Banana Mexican Monkey Cake


Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.

© FarmgirlFare.com, the loving foodie farm blog where sometimes life would be a whole lot easier if we could just move straight from the salad course to dessert—and it's plain to see that there aren't nearly enough chocolate recipes on this blog.

13 comments:

  1. May I just say that I love your blog? OK, I will. You have delicious recipes, great pictures and good common sense.
    Thanks.

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  2. Yes, I love chocolate..but this does sound so good! Sometimes veggies sound as good as sweets after I've eaten too many sweets! Have a good Valentines day and come say hi when you can :D

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  3. YUM!! My man is all about the slaw and our recent zucchini overload has him craving brocoli...perfect timing;)

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  4. OMG ... this salad looks so good ... cannot wait to try it. Happy Valentine's Day!!

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  5. This looks so, so yummy. And totally good for you. Can't wait to try it myself!

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  6. Why is that a cold slaw SO hits the spot in the deep midwinter? I can't wait to try this one...

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  7. Susan--I made this for dinner last night, and at first I thought I had enough to feed a small country. As it turned out, a VERY small country--population two. Geoff loved it and I did, too! The addition of yogurt to the dressing really made it!

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  8. I'm so glad you posted this! About two weeks ago I ate a delicious Brussell sprout slaw at one of my favorite bistros, and I have been looking for a recipe to try at home!

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  9. What a great way to use brussel sprouts. I love everything about this slaw - it sounds light and satisfying.

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  10. I LOVE the sound of this. I'm a big fan of slaws in general but haven't made one quite like your recipe.

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  11. Hi Susan. Okay, I'm a day late for Valentine's Day, but never too late to try this slaw! This looks & sounds sooo delicious. of course, everything I've tried from your recipes has been wonderful - thank you so much!

    Thanks, too, for all the great pictures of your animals that you so generously share with us. Love The Daily Donkey (and all the other fur-kids!)

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  12. I read your blog for several reasons: pictures of animals, rural landscapes; stories about husband, friends, vet, broken water pipes, cat shack, donkey food, your bakery; the recipes; and as Connie said, your common sense.
    I hope you feel better soon.

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  13. This sounds terrific. You do have the greatest ideas and I cannot wait to make this. Think I have everything but the Brus Sprouts, but it will be great. Perfect for us for tonight. Once again, Farmgirl Susan to the rescue! Hope you guys are doing great. Hugs.

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December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.

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I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.

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