Squash, cabbage and carrot slaw
Raw squash flesh brings vibrant colour and nutty flavour to this gorgeous-looking slaw, which you can keep in the fridge for a couple of days and dig into as you please. Use a small squash or culinary pumpkin, rather than a swollen Halloween monster. My favourite varieties include butternut, kabocha, onion squash and Crown Prince.
Servs 4
Method
If you’ve got time, lightly toast the sunflower seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat. This isn’t essential but it does develop their nutty flavour. Leave to cool.
Peel and deseed the squash and grate it coarsely into a large bowl. Peel and grate the carrots into the same bowl. You can do this with the coarse side of a cheese grater but of course it’s much quicker if you use the grating attachment on a food processor.
Use a sharp knife to finely shred the cabbage and add to the bowl. Add the orange zest and juice, sprinkle in the sunflower seeds and mix everything well. Season with salt and pepper.
For the dressing, shake all the ingredients together in a jar with a pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper until emulsified.
Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well. Taste and add a little more salt and pepper if necessary, then it’s ready to eat. This will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
Serving suggestions
Veg swaps
Though it looks stunning with red cabbage, this works just as well with finely shredded white cabbage. You can also swap small, firm parsnips for the carrot.
Ingredients
- 75g sunflower seeds
- 300g chunk of squash
- 2 medium carrots (about 150g in total)
- ½ small red cabbage (about 400g), core removed
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing
- 1 teaspoon English mustard
- 1 teaspoon runny honey or vegan alternative
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil
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Veg Cookery
Who needs meat? During the River Cottage Veg cookery course you'll learn to turn local, seasonal produce into delicious veggie dishes.
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