The best cabbage for pickling (salting) + simple sour cabbage slaw recipe
Russian sauerkraut again (it’s time to get down to salting / pickling!). What kind of cabbage is the best for home-made pickled (salted, sour) cabbage (kislaya kapusta, kváshenaya kapústa)? Another way to eat salted cabbage: a quick salad recipe
Yesterday we stopped by our local Polish shop and I was so surprised to see that they had a single large white cabbage for salting! The recipe for Russian salted (pickled) cabbage here. Of course, I bought this lonely cabbage and it turned out to be just right for the recipe. I made a picture of the pickling cabbage next to a banana so you could appreciate its size!
Today we cut it and salted it and my 5 year old son helped me do the pressing and squeezing, see the picture below. When we finished cutting the cabbage and mixed it with carrots and salt, we already had juices on the bottom of the bowl up to one third of the height! This is the right cabbage!
We cut off the outer scruffy leaves of the cabbage and offered them to our chickens. Of course they absolutely loved them. Green leafy vegetables are their favourite. The large cabbage turned out to be a great purchase for the whole family.
Our first salted cabbage of the season is in the boiler room now. It will be there for a couple of days and we will be prickling it every day to let the gases out. Meanwhile I thought I would share a very quick and easy salad made with the pickled cabbage. It is actually just another way to serve it and eat it.
Russian sour cabbage slaw recipe
Additionally to some ready salted cabbage of your own making or just bought in some Eastern European shop, you will need a little sunflower oil (cold press unrefined one is even better!) and a small red onion or a shallot. Some people also like to add a half of a tea spoon of sugar into this salad.
Chop the onion into really small pieces; add it into the salted cabbage. Add sugar if you are using it and a spoon or two of the sunflower oil. Mix all well together and serve! You can enjoy this simple salad as a starter or as a light vegetable garnish to your main dish.