Meatless Monday & Unprocessed: Jalapeno Red Cabbage Slaw

When I committed to doing Meatless Monday, I promised myself that I would do meatless meals, not just dishes.  But for the past week I was in LA finally packing up and moving the last of my bedroom up to Toronto.  This recipe is a little late in coming as a result of all of that too.  This slaw is awesome on it's own as a side dish to a tasty portobello burger or, on a day other than Monday, perched atop pulled pork like my Pomegranate Ancho Pulled Pork. 

It luckily works along with my commitment to eating only unprocessed foods for the month of October.  Andrew over at Eating Rules has assembled more than 300 people who have pledged to eat only unprocessed for up to 30 days.  There are some guidelines that you can tailor to you whether you want to be more stringent or a bit less.  I think they are great guidelines and I for one am going to do my best to stick within them.  I say right now that I don't think I'll have too tough of a time with this challenge as I make so much on my own anyway, but we shall see how the month progresses.  For more info on the Unprocessed challenge check out continue reading here, but also check out Andrew's blog which I will be guest posting too later in the month.


Back to the recipe, this slaw couldn't be simpler and when fresh has amazing crunch.  If you want even more spice you can add more jalapeno, although take a bite or two before deciding as the heat intensifies with each bite.  In case you hadn't noticed in the pictures, the color is amazing.  I love the color of red cabbage.  It's so vibrant and besides beets it's one of the few vegetables that can be used to add the glorious reddish-purple hue to your plate.  With just the right amount of tang from the vinegar and a slight sweetness from the carrots, it's delicious and colorful.

Jalapeno Red Cabbage Slaw
serves 4 

1/4 large red cabbage
1 jalapeno
1/2 large carrot
3 green onions - white & pale green parts
2-3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

1.   Remove the core from the 1/4 of red cabbage.  Finely slice the cabbage into ribbons.   Cut the jalapeno in half and seed it.  Finely slice the jalapeno, I sliced the short way to get more pieces of jalapeno.  Peel the 1/2 carrot and julienne it, you could grate it but I wanted an extra crunchy slaw so I cut it by hand. Finely slice the green onion.
2.  Toss all of the prepared vegetables in a bowl.  Top with the vinegar and oil.  Toss to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

The boy loved the slaw, more than likely because I served it on pulled pork.  Though I did make him try it on it's own and he complimented the crunch and slight spice.  Even though we are in throes of fall here in Toronto, this slaw is a great fresh way to keep a bit of summer going at home.  Enjoy!