SPICY RAINBOW SLAW

I just love colorful food, don’t you?  I was planning on making fish tacos, and wanted to make a spicy slaw to go with them.  I went to the local Asian supermarket, planning on buying some Chinese Leaf (Napa Cabbage).  When I got there, I just couldn’t find any.  Bummer.  So, I went to Safeway, thinking I’d have to just use regular white cabbage – when I spotted something I had never come across before – Red Napa Cabbage.  At Safeway.  If you know me well, you know that I don’t particularly like Safeway.  Well, at least the ones near me at any rate.  Their vegetables are over-priced and not great quality.  Supermarkets in the US spray their produce with water every 20 minutes or so.  It means they look good at the time – but by the time you get them home and use them, not so much.  I really wish they wouldn’t do that.  Well – this time, they won me over with this gorgeous-looking cabbage!

When I got home, I remembered that I had also found some rainbow carrots and a gorgeous orange and red pepper at the market a few days before – enter Spicy Rainbow Slaw!  This slaw is full of gorgeous vibrant colors – purple, red, yellow, orange and green.

The dressing for this slaw is a lovely spicy peanut sauce, that can be used for both salads as well as marinades.  It’s a great marinade for either tofu or fish, and works perfectly in this slaw too.  The recipe is super simple, and you can find it here.

First of all, simply peel and grate the carrots, beets and courgettes (zucchinis).  Finely slice the red onion and shred the cabbage.  Chop some cilantro and then simply mix all the ingredients together and coat in the dressing just before eating.  Everything can be prepped ahead of time and simply mixed together at meal time.

Use as much or as little of the dressing as you like.  If the dressing is not spicy enough for you, simply chop some serrano or jalepeno pepper finely and sprinkle over the top.

As I said – this salad was originally meant to be a regular spicy cabbage slaw, so if you can’t find red napa cabbage (chinese leaf), simply use a mix of green napa and regular red cabbage.  Use orange carrots if you can’t get rainbow carrots.  Do add the beets and courgettes though – the beets add an earthy note and the zucchini (courgettes) are silky and sweet.  If you would prefer to spiralize the ingredients – go right ahead, it will make for a fun, spaghetti-like experience!  A great way to encourage children to get involved with making food and enjoy eating it too!