Chilean Cabbage and Avocado Slaw

By Martha Rose Shulman

Chilean Cabbage and Avocado Slaw
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
15 minutes, plus 1 hour's purging of cabbage
Rating
4(304)
Comments
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Coleslaw meets guacamole here in this utterly simple mix of shredded cabbage, salt, lemon, and puréed avocado. The chef Iliana de la Vega, who was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, served it at a delicious Latin-themed lunch she prepared at the “Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives” conference this year at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley. I couldn’t get enough of it. I sat with Iliana at the lunch and asked her about the salad. “Just salt the cabbage, let it sit for a while, then add lots of lemon juice and the mashed avocado,” she said. That really is all there is to it. Shred the cabbage thin and for best results let it sit, after salting generously, for an hour or more, to tenderize it and draw out strong-tasting juices.

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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4
  • ½large cabbage, cored and finely shredded (about 1 pound cabbage, which produces 5 cups shredded cabbage)
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 to 5tablespoons fresh lemon juice (more to taste)
  • 1large or 1½ medium-size ripe avocados
  • Freshly ground pepper (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

86 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 6 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 1 gram protein; 167 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place shredded cabbage in a large bowl or colander and salt generously. Tossand rub the salt into cabbage with your hands. Let sit for 1 hour or longer (refrigerate if longer than 1 hour). If cabbage tastes too salty, rinse, then squeeze out excess moisture and transfer to a dry bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Toss cabbage with half the lemon juice.

  3. Step 3

    Mash avocados in a mortar and pestle, or in a bowl using a fork, potato masher or a whisk. Add salt to taste and remaining lemon juice and mix until smooth. Scrape into the bowl with cabbage and stir together until shredded cabbage is thoroughly coated with mashed avocado. Taste and adjust salt. Add pepper if desired. If mixture isn’t creamy, add more avocado.

Tip
  • Advance preparation: Surprisingly, this keeps well for a day or two in the refrigerator. Because of the lemon juice, the avocado won’t discolor.

Ratings

4 out of 5
304 user ratings
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Comments

grace

Good idea but a little boring for my taste. I added cilantro and jalapeno to boost.

Gerry

Oh my. Made this twice now and doesn't taste like the boiled cabbage of my boarding school days! First time made it with a chunky hot guacamole from TJ's , fabulous. Second time added a finally diced fresh jalapeno to mashed avocado. Equally as good. Used it as a base for grilled chicken strips in a tortilla wrap (raves from a 20 year old grandson) , a topping on a cheese omelette and, as a side to go with salmon burger. We're addicted.

Lauren

I've made this many times and use guacamole instead of plain avocado....after all I live in New Mexico and we need our chiles.

Pretzel

Nice way to have a creamy dressing on your cabbage without using a lot of fat or mayonnaise. I would call the flavors clean and delicate rather than bland. I do think I might like it better with just a touch of garlic, but that's probably not authentic. The salting process tenderizes the cabbage beautifully, but I wonder if it also extracts all the vitamin C. Use that brine for refrigerator pickles!

mary

I think it wants a little something else, maybe toasted sesame seeds, or peanuts?

Linda

Made as directed with the addition of more lemon juice, and a carrot. Don’t be shy with the salt. I did not add cilantro or hot pepper, because it didn’t seem authentic to Chilean cuisine which this is supposed to be. It was very clean, refreshing, and went well with the other heavily seasoned Items on my dinner menu.

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