It's not just coleslaw. I have a distinct aversion to white, cooked cabbage which I blame on my mother and boarding school. At school, the cabbage was boiled to death and its presence in the day's meal was announced by the "aroma" that hung around for hours. When I was very little - like four or five - my mother's preferred way of preparing cabbage was also the death boil. She served it covered with a deluge of celery salt. Actually, she used celery salt on a lot of things including jacket potatoes. As a consequence, celery is culinary ingredient that I've only come to appreciate in the last few years.
Back to cabbage: somewhere between the death boil of my toddlerhood and my tweens, red (or purple) cabbage became available and my mother remembered a recipe for braising cabbage with onion and apple; no water. Suddenly cabbage became imminently edible and that recipe, with a minor addition, is a favourite not just of ours, but of some of our guests, too.
However, as usual, I digress.
A few weeks ago, the temperature went from freezing cold to scorching the trees, so the idea of cooking a hot meal was less than appealing. Back to my mother: occasionally she'd make a cabbage salad - not with mayonnaise and grated carrot - but rather with a French dressing or vinaigrette; with white cabbage. At the time, for reasons unimportant, I had a rather large red cabbage and carrots in the fridge. I love the combination of bright purple and orange, so an idea began to form. I rejected a French dressing and opted for Asian flavours. Again, because of what I had on hand - dhanya (coriander/cilantro) and mint from the garden.
It was delicious.
A good thing, too, because there was a vast quantity which, I discovered, keeps well in the fridge. In addition, this salad also has the versatility I like for creating meals for vegetarians (and vegans) as well as carnivores.
The salad was great on its own, but also made a great base for two other dishes: as a bed for slices of rare sirloin and sautéed brinjal and hummus. One could also add seeds and nuts for protein, or even whole chickpeas (garbanzo beans) instead of hummus.
Download a printable recipe here.
Next thing, one of my pals comments that she has this "really easy" recipe and voila, the recipe's there.
But.
It uses self-raising flour which, I gather is a British and South African product, but which I no longer keep in the pantry. Anyhow, after another wander around the Interweb, I discovered the ingredient(s) essential for the rise and adjusted the recipe accordingly.
Quick and really easy they are and, if you're using self-raising flour, you need only two other ingredients: full (or double cream) yoghurt and a little salt. Probably the most time-consuming part is the resting and rolling. The resting can happen while you prepare the other bits of the meal, and because they're cooked in a hot dry pan on the hob, the cooking is relatively quick.
I discovered that although one can keep the dough, it does deteriorate. A far better option is to make all the breads, allow them to cool and freeze them.
Download a printable version of the recipe here.
The result was delicious and on reflection, this is one of those meals when the components can be prepared in advance and don't spoil. A great option for those meals when it's going to be impossible to cook. For whatever reason.
What Mary didn't say when she shared the recipe is that it these breads are as delicious and versatile as they are easy to make.
Thank you, Mary.
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