Chopped Cabbage Salad

My work schedule changed this week and I have less time during the day to devote to cooking and blogging. Working as a freelance writer from home for the last two years I could often cook in between assignments. Now that I work in an office, the last two nights I've walked in the door at 5:30, kicked off my shoes, tied on an apron and scooted to the stove to cook, glass of wine nearby. It's different, but enjoyable.

This salad saved me some time Tuesday when I was at a loss for an easy vegetable to go with some sandwiches we were bolting down before heading to the Orioles game. I had made it Monday night to go with fish tacos and proved to be better the second day than the first. I hate soggy leftover dressed salad. It's slimy and gross. But cabbage lightly dressed with olive oil and white vinegar gets better with time. It softens and absorbs the other flavors in the salad. If you have time, salt the cabbage before assembling the salad. If not, it still tastes good on Day 1. And even better on Day 2. And it's really forgiving. Add in any of the suggestions, or not, and it always tastes great.

Chopped Cabbage Salad
1 small head cabbage
salt as needed
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots,chopped
1 small onion, minced
1 red or yellow bell pepper,chopped
1/3 Cup olive oil
2 Tablespoons sherry or white wine vinegar
fresh ground pepper
(optional) cubed cooked potatoes, chickpeas, green beans, peas, feta,
blue cheese, avocado, radishes
Instructions:

Core and roughly chop chopped , put it in a colander and sprinkle with a couple tablespoons of salt. Check in ten minutes, and if the chopped is not yet "weeping", add a bit more salt, then mix so all chopped is salted. Put a plate on the chopped to press it down and let it sit for at least an hour or as much as two hours. If chopped
becomes too salty, rinse it before using.

Add remaining ingredients to the cabbage, toss well. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately, or put in the refrigerator to meld flavors. The salad will keep for a couple of days.

VARIATION: Asian Style Chopped Cabbage Salad: Instead of the olive oil, use 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and 5
tablespoons peanut oil. Substitute lime juice or rice vinegar for sherry vinegar or lemon juice. Add some minced fresh hot chile and chopped scallions. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Adapted from "Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating" by Mark Bittman (Simon and Schuster, 2008).