Crus & frais
Marinated red cabbage salad
Serves 4
I love this salad because it thinks. Red cabbage is one of the vegetables richest in anthocyanins — those antioxidant pigments of aronia and maqui. Yet they keep their vivid red-violet, and their strength, only in an acidic medium: cider vinegar is therefore not just a flavour, it fixes the colour and protects the antioxidants. Here each ingredient solves another one's problem, as in hummus.
Ingredients
- 1/2 red cabbage sliced very finely, 2 grated carrots, 1 apple (Granny Smith or Gala) in fine matchsticks
- 3 to 4 tbsp unpasteurised cider vinegar (with the mother), 2 to 3 tbsp walnut oil
- Pink salt, black pepper, a fine grating of fresh ginger
- To finish: toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds (or hemp), flat-leaf parsley or mint
Method
Slice the cabbage as finely as possible, salt it generously and massage by hand for 2 to 3 minutes: the fibres yield, the juices bead. Rest for 10 to 15 minutes — osmosis works on its own. Make the dressing (cider vinegar, walnut oil, pepper, ginger) and add it to the cabbage. At the last moment, fold in the carrot and apple. Marinate at least 30 minutes, ideally 1 to 2 hours. To serve, scatter with toasted seeds and fresh herbs. The salad improves over 3 to 4 days in the fridge, like a pickle.
The magic of anthocyanins
Red cabbage anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants — and also a pH indicator: red-violet in acid, blue-grey when neutral. The vinegar's acidity stabilises them, preserving both the vivid colour and their full activity. Salting and massaging before the vinegar starts the osmosis: the vinegar then soaks into a cabbage already open.