I’ll be the first to admit that root vegetables can get old pretty quickly. Some winters I’ve downright struggled to make it through week after week of cabbage… leeks… sunchokes… beets… and PARSNIPS. Don’t even get me started on parsnips! For some reason, I’ve just never liked cooked parsnips.
That confession behind me, I had a slaw revelation over the summer. I couldn’t get enough Asian inspired slaws–I gobbled them down at home and in restaurants, and shared them with the folks at work parties on more than one occasion. As my winter vegetables have been showing up in my CSA box, I decided to try to turn my former nemesis into a tasty slaw.
After some skeptical searching the Internet to make sure I wasn’t the only looney out there trying to shred sunchokes, I got my food processor to work. (On a side note–my in-laws got me a food processor attachment for my mixer. It’s been a total life saver and has saved me insane amounts of time preparing meals for myself and the hungry Beacon Food Forest volunteers! If you’ve been on the fence about it, I definitely recommend one.) I’ve thrown all of my winter haul in the food processor, and so far it’s been way more palatable.
This is super easy (unless you hate grating vegetables, then it’s a free workout)–just grate/shred any winter vegetables that you have on hand! So far I’ve shredded cabbage (duh), parsnip, beet, sunchoke (this one is a little starchy) and turnip. I usually just cut the tops and tails off the veggies and slice them into a size that will fit through the food processor slot. If you want to peel the vegetables, have at it–I’m far too lazy for that, and, honestly, after everything is shredded I really can’t tell if the vegetable was peeled or not.
I pair this with a variety of dressings so I don’t get too bored–Italian vinaigrette, mustard vinaigrette, and balsamic vinaigrette so far. The dressing recipe I use is insanely versatile, so you can just swap out any vinegar you like or add a squirt of mustard to shake things up. This would also be great with shredded apple, but I’m usually shredding in bulk for a weeks worth of lunches, so apple starts to get a little… questionable… looking towards Friday. I do like to toss some pecans or sunflowers seeds on top occasionally, and have thought about how nice some crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola would taste for a non-vegan alternative.
Wash vegetables and prepare for shredding. Peeling the outer layer of the vegetable is optional.
Shred vegetables into a bowl.
In a separate cup or jar, combine olive oil, vinegar, sweetener, salt and pepper. Shake until combined.
Mix slaw with vinaigrette and voila!
Fabulous slaw, tried it last night with my old parsnips, beets, cabbage and carrot. Thank you!