A few weeks ago I hosted a dinner for 10 Junior League of Chicago women. I knew the women would be talking while eating so I wanted to make an appetizing meal that was easy to eat. I I decided to make grilled chicken with an apple Dijon pan gravy and roasted herb potatoes. I also wanted to serve a vegetable dish to compliment the flavors of the sweet chicken and savory potatoes. Normally I would have gone with green beans or carrots, but I had a two heads cabbage waiting to be used in my refrigerator.
Using only three ingredient I created a warm salad of cabbage, bacon and blue cheese. I didn’t use any vinegar or citrus fruit juice, but rather a very pungent and tangy blue cheese. If you use a mild blue cheese I would recommend adding a hit of acid like apple cider vinegar or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Since the bacon was being cut into lardons and I was using the fat for the dressing, I used bacon pieces which are less expensive than bacon slices but a bit fattier. Yes, I do realize that I have turned one of the healthiest vegetables in the world into a bacon and cheese dressed side dish. But Please I BEG YOU, do not use a low fat bacon, you need the rendered fat for the dressing and flavor. If anything, remove some of the rendered fat from the pan before cooking the cabbage.
What I love most about this dish is its simplicity. If you want to get creative you could add onions or apples. You could also add a bit of nuttiness with some walnuts or pecans. If you really wanted to amp it up, you could add them all.
In addition to the flavor of this dish, I love the presentation. I used purple cabbage (though you can use any cabbage your like) and the colors turn pretty funky. It’s a rainbow of cabbage on the plate.
Warm Cabbage Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 head cabbage cored and sliced
- 1 lb bacon cut into 1/2 inch lardons
- 3 oz pungent blue cheese crumbled
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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In hot frying pan render bacon until crispy. Reserve bacon lardons.
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In hot pan with bacon grease cook cabbage until wilted.
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Toss cabbage with bacon and blue cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve warm.
This side dish will surely impress any of your guest. I surely impressed mine.
Enjoy!
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