WARM RED CABBAGE SALAD WITH SWEET POTATOES

SERVES 6

RED CABBAGE IS BOTH denser and sweeter than green cabbage, and I like it both cooked and raw. It’s great in Cabbage Cooked Quickly (here). Looking for something soft and equally colorful to combine with red cabbage for a winter composed salad, I decided on sweet potatoes simmered with sweet raisins and pine nuts. An easy way to shred red cabbage is to quarter it, remove the core, then cut crosswise into ¼-inch ribbons.

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon butter

Pinch brown sugar

Salt and pepper

Handful raisins

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

Large handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Fresh lemon juice

½ medium head red cabbage, quartered and shredded

2 cloves garlic, smashed

Combine the sweet potatoes, butter, brown sugar, and 1½ cups water in a small saucepan, and add salt and pepper. Simmer until the potatoes are tender and there’s almost no water left, about 12 minutes. Add the raisins, pine nuts, 2 tablespoons of the oil, vinegar, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice and cook until the liquid is evaporated, a few minutes more.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the cabbage, garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir until the cabbage begins to wilt, about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves. Put the cabbage in a large bowl and spoon the sweet potato mixture on top.