Dish of Jamaican Cabbage Salad
(click to enlarge)

Cabbage Salad - Jamaican


Jamaica / California

Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  
3-1/4 #
*
30 min
Yes
This fine salad is excellent for buffet parties as it is tasty and very wilt resistant. Do see Comments for the California part.




-------
1-1/2
8
5
8
-------
1/3
1/4
1
1/2
-------
1/2

---
#
oz
oz
oz
---
c
c
T
T
----
c

-- Vegies
Cabbage (1)
Celery
Carrot
Cucumbers (2)
-- Dressing
Vinegar (3)
Olive Oil ExtV  
Sugar
Salt
---------
Boiling Water

Make   -   (30 min)
  1. Mix all Dressing items - to give time for Sugar and Salt to dissolve.
  2. Core CABBAGE and shred fairly small.
  3. Trim CELERY and slice thin crosswise.
  4. Peel the CARROTS and slice thin on a diagonal.
  5. Cut CUCUMBERS into sticks about 1-1/2 inches long. If you use the regular Green Blimps, peel and seed first and weigh after.
  6. Tumble together all Vegies items.
  7. Pour Dressing over and tumble to mix evenly.
  8. Pour Boiling Water over and and tumble well.
  9. Let sit for 40 minutes, tumbling now and then.
  10. Drain and serve. After draining, you can seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
NOTES:
  1. Cabbage:

      White Cabbage is normal, but I have seen a couple recipes by actual Jamaicans that used Red Cabbage.
  2. Cucumbers:

      I always use Persian cucumbers in salads, skin on and seed mass in. English or Japanese cucumbers would be similar. Jamaican recipes for this amount call for "1 small cucumber", which would suggest a standard Green Blimp, peeled with seeds removed.
  3. Vinegar:

      Most Jamaicans seem to use regular distilled white vinegar, but I prefer White Wine Vinegar.
  4. Comments:

      The pattern recipe called for 1/4 cup Oil, 1/4 cup Vinegar and 1/4 cup Sugar. Though other Jamaican recipes confirm this amount - no way in Hell am I going to put that much sugar in a salad! This is California! So I cut it to 1 Tablespoon. Then the salad was bland, so I increased the Vinegar a bit and added Salt (some Jamaican recipes do allow salt). These changes made it a fine salad I would not hesitate to serve. I have since found a recipe by a Jamaican operating a restaurant in England who also cuts the Sugar way back. Of course, some Jamaican recipes also allow 1/2 Scotch Bonnet chopped fine, or other fresh Chilis.
  5. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
rgv_cabjam1 221127 jcb121   -   www.clovegarden.com
©Andrew Grygus - agryg@aaxnet.com - Linking to and non-commercial use of this page is permitted.