Apple & Napa Cabbage Slaw with Sage

Word of the day: espaliered. A tree that is trained to grow against a wall, or on a flat plane, is called an espaliered tree. We’ve demonstrated this in the Edible Garden. Why do we do this? Because we’re in a city, space is limited, and espaliered trees are an attractive garden element.

The Liberty Apple is resistant to cedar-apple rust, apple scab, powdery mildew, and fire blight, all of which make apple growing difficult. The red-over-green apples ripen in early September. They were a little tart for Garden Chef Christina Curry’s recipe. A sweet apple, like the Fuji apple, would work well in this recipe. If the apples in your kitchen are tart, do what Chef Christina did on the day of the cooking demo: add some agave nectar to the recipe to sweeten it up.

This recipe is a marinated version of coleslaw. In other words, it does not use mayonnaise. Chef Christina recommends replacing mayonnaise with a combination of olive oil, vinegar, and honey. Fresh sage from the Edible Garden will also boost the flavor.

In this demo, Chef Christina used a Japanese Mandolin to julienne the apples. The Napa or Chinese cabbage in the recipe can usually be found in the store next to the bok choy.

Apple & Napa Cabbage Slaw with Sage

2 apples
juice of one lemon
1 small head Napa cabbage
1/2 small red onion
2 T sage, chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 T infused white balsamic*
honey or agave nectar, to taste, optional
kosher salt & cracked black pepper, to taste

Use a mandolin, or hand chop, to julienne the apples. Squeeze the lemon juice over the apples to prevent browning. Julienne the Napa cabbage and red onion. In a large bowl, combine apples, cabbage, red onion and sage. Drizzle with the olive oil and vinegar and toss gently. If apples are tart, add a little honey or agave nectar to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve as a side or to compliment to your favorite fish or pork dish.

* Choose any flavor of white balsamic that you enjoy

Explore more Garden Chef recipes here.