knife skills: winter rutabaga slaw

winter slaw with rutabaga | everybody likes sandwiches

When autumn rolls around, I eat a lot of apples. I will slice up an apple into quarters and start snacking. Granny Smith and Pink Ladies are the 2 varieties I’m loving right now. They’re tart and crisp and full of flavour. I bake with them and toss them into vegetable dishes. Apples are everywhere. And no surprise, they even made it into this winter slaw.

winter slaw with rutabaga | everybody likes sandwiches

But that’s not the only surprise here. Besides the usual cabbage, I’ve added rutabaga (a large round mild turnip). I grew up with rutabaga. We ate them boiled or mashed with our Sunday lunches. And as a kid, I especially loved raw rutabaga – my mom would hand me slices to snack on before dinner. So that was my inspiration with adding them to the slaw. Raw rutabaga is crisp, earthy and sweet and as figured, it was a tasty addition to this winter slaw.

winter slaw with rutabaga | everybody likes sandwiches

The only real tricky thing with this slaw is the knife work. Sure, you could try a mandoline for this, but I decided to just start chopping. I put on The Spilled Milk podcast on parsnips (because I’m really behind on my podcasts) and started slicing the rutabaga into thin sheets. I then stacked the thin slices and cut them into thin matchsticks. Julienned rutabaga achieved! But because my matchsticks were long, I cut them into thirds. I did the same process with the granny smith apple. And then I finely sliced and chopped the cabbage and the red pepper. Think of it as a meditative process rather than finicky piece work. And it helps to have a glass of wine to keep you calm.

winter slaw with rutabaga | everybody likes sandwiches

Chop, chop slice, toss and then whisk up your dressing. Toss again and dig in. Don’t forget to add lots of fresh dill. I used 7 stalks of fresh dill and it didn’t overwhelm. Also, toasted walnuts add a nice nutty crunch. A lovely and fresh side dish to accompany your seasonal dinner. Leftovers held up well – I just made sure to keep extra walnuts on hand & out of the salad for over night crunch keeping!

winter slaw with rutabaga | everybody likes sandwiches

10 comments to “knife skills: winter rutabaga slaw”

  1. 1
    Diane   November 1, 2013 at 10:01 am

    Hi, I just wanted to tell you that I have made your Favorite Tomato Sauce with orange juice (and the entire peel) tons of times now, and it is a Favorite too. (We add a 1/4 pound of Italian sausage.) My husband loves it, and it’s perfect with the fall weather. This new recipe looks delicious too. Keep up your fantastic work here–I love your website.

  2. 2
    Eileen   November 2, 2013 at 3:15 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of eating rutabaga raw! Turnips, yes (thanks to Little House on the Prairie), but that’s the closest thing I can think of. I’m super intrigued to find out how this slaw tastes.

  3. 3
    Caz   November 3, 2013 at 12:16 am

    This sounds fantastic, I’m loving all the apples around too. My favourite variety is Royal Gala, I love the sweet crunchy taste. I’ve never thought of trying rutabaga raw either. (We call it swede in the UK) I’ve only ever had it mashed. I think I need to give this slaw a go and give my knife skills a good work out at the same time!

  4. 4
    Jen   November 5, 2013 at 8:28 am

    Any suggestions for a dill replacement? Tastes like sand to me!

  5. 5
    kickpleat   November 5, 2013 at 9:27 am

    Diane, I’m so glad that the tomato sauce is your favourite too! Thank you for the nice words – I’m blushing!!

    Eileen, well then you’ll just have to try it. It’s delicious.

    Caz, yes, it’s a lot of chopping, but it’s worth it. I hope you try it out.

    Jen, I’d leave out the dill and try parsley or cilantro instead.

  6. 6
    Kaat   November 6, 2013 at 1:28 am

    I’m a major slaw fan and you just keep on giving great slaw recipes, yay! By chance i have a giant rutabaga in my fridge…

  7. 7
    Lucy @ Lucyeats   November 7, 2013 at 12:38 am

    That looks delicious. I love apple in slaw but I’ve never been quite adventurous enough to pick up the rutabaga from the supermarket. Looks like it’s about time that I try..

  8. 8
    cody121   November 10, 2013 at 10:54 pm

    hat looks delicious. I love apple in slaw but Iโ€™ve never been quite adventurous enough to pick up the rutabaga from the supermarket. Looks like itโ€™s about time that I try..

  9. 9
    JoanneM   November 11, 2013 at 6:12 pm

    You’ve got amazing chopping skills! Way better than mine but I am trying to get better at it. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a raw rutabaga before. What does it taste like? The slaw looks delicious! I might have to bring this recipe into work with me and make this slaw for the customers one day ๐Ÿ™‚

  10. 10
    Lindsay   November 18, 2013 at 8:44 am

    Beautiful salad. From the ingredients list, it looks like it’s loaded with flavor, too. Definitely going to make this, thanks for sharing. ๐Ÿ™‚

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