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.
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.
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.
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 rutabaga slaw
1/2 a head of rutabaga
1/2 head of cabbage
1 large granny smith apple, finely sliced & julienned
1 red pepper, sliced thin & roughly chopped
1 jalepeno, minced
1/4 of a small red onion, minced
lots of fresh dill, tough stems discarded & leaves minced
juice of 1 lemon
1-2 T cider vinegar
1 T dijon mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1-2 T maple syrup
salt & pepper
1/2 c walnuts, toasted & roughly choppedThinly slice rutabaga, stack the layers and then make thin slices across so you get nicely julienned strips. Cut strips into thirds if they’re too long. Add to a large serving bowl. Thinly slice the cabbage and then give it a good rough chop before adding it to the bowl. Add in the sliced red peppers and apples along with the minced jalepeno and onion. Toss the mixture well with lots of fresh dill.
In a small jar, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, olive oil, and maple syrup. Add in a pinch of kosher salt and a good grind of black pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour over slaw and toss well. Sprinkle slaw with toasted walnuts and serve.
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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.
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.
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!
Any suggestions for a dill replacement? Tastes like sand to me!
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.
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…
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..
hat 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..
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 🙂
Beautiful salad. From the ingredients list, it looks like it’s loaded with flavor, too. Definitely going to make this, thanks for sharing. 🙂