Red cabbage and orange salad

The quotidian cooks were so angry this week that we almost forgot to cook. The reason? The lobbying maneuvers in Europe to approve the use of glyphosate, a poison used as herbicide. It easily ends up in our vegetables, besides killing flora, fauna and everything on its way. We decided to take our aprons off again and put on our hats of environmental activists. Or is it pro clean-food activists? Or agricultural activists? All of them, one on top of the other if necessary as we again face another lobbying move by large corporations to get the European Commission to approve the use of glyphosate herbicides in agriculture.

Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and its negative effects on human health and the environment are extensively documented. In 2015, WHO classified glyphosate as Level 2 of toxicity: “probably carcinogenic to humans”. In 2016, public outcry and insufficient support from national governments forced the European Commission to extend its use for only 18 months.

On 8 February 2017 several organizations launched a European Citizens’ Initiative (ICE) to ban glyphosate and set mandatory targets for reducing pesticide use in the EU. The initiative is promoted by 38 organizations from 15 countries, including Greenpeace, HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance) and PAN (Pesticide Action Network). Its aim is to collect at least one million signatures and submit the petition before the next Commission decision to renew, withdraw or extend the European glyphosate license.

European Citizens’ Initiative (ICE) to ban glyphosate

From The Quotidian Cook we join the EU Citizens’ Initiative and we ask you to support the proposal with your signature. Once again we insist that it is not enough to follow a healthy and clean diet. We need to participate in meaningful campaigns if we want to see changes in the quality of our food. We need to become food activists!

To celebrate the initiative we bring you a clean, refreshing and colorful winter salad, our cabbage with orange salad. It is a surprisingly delicious dish because of the contrast of textures (the crisp cabbage and the softness of the fruit) and flavors (sweet orange and lemon-tahini dressing).

This is a Mediterranean winter salad, with literally sunlight coming out of the vivid colors of the dish. During the prototype tasting session some of our guests told us that it was their ideal appetizer, others that they loved it as as dessert, or as a final dish of a meal … no matter when you eat it the salad vibrates by itself. It is a matter of giving wings to your imagination.

Red cabbage and orange salad

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Total time

15 mins

 

Author: TQC

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• A quarter of a medium-sized red cabbage
• 2 medium sized oranges
• 1 scallion
• For the dressing
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil EVOO
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon raw tahini
• ½ tablespoon of Dijon mustard
• A pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. Remove the outer leaves of the red cabbage: those that are dry or deteriorated until you see leaves that are shiny and crisp. Cut and remove the white stem from the cabbage bottom.
2. Finely cut the cabbage lengthwise into very thin strips. Reserve.
3. Peel and cut the scallion into very thin longitudinal strips and reserve.
4. Peel and cut the oranges into slices and these in pieces of ½ inch x ½ inch approximately.
5. Place the ingredients for the dressing in a jar with lid, close and stir until the emulsion forms.
6. Assemble the dish mixing the cabbage and orange with your hands, decorate with the scallion strips and add the dressing.

Culinary Tips

The balance between the amount of cabbage, orange and seasoning is essential. If the cabbage is of large size increase the rest of ingredients proportionally.
Cut cabbage leaves lengthwise and very thinly to get the optimal texture.
You can replace the maple syrup with another sweetener, agave syrup or panela cane sugar, for example.

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