Warm winter slaw with honey and juniper dressing
Everything you love about slaw, only hot. The juniper dressing adds a botanical zing – like a G&T for your roast veg.
Think of this as everything you love about a classic slaw, only hot. The juniper dressing brings a bright, botanical zing – almost like serving a gin and tonic alongside your roast veg – and it’s just as good tossed through leftover vegies from last night’s dinner. A word to the wise: juniper berries are strong. You don’t need many to make this jump!
Notice how the purple cabbage keeps its shape and colour? That’s because the heat is high enough to burnish the edges without leaching anthocyanin into the pan. Some vegies are leakier than others, so we’re mitigating that “intermingling” by using separate roasting trays. If you can’t find Dutch carrots, regular ones work just as well.
Ingredients
½ red cabbage, cut into 8 wedges
1 red onion, halved and cut into wedges
1 bunch Dutch carrots, trimmed and scrubbed, larger carrots halved
1 small fennel bulb, about 200g, trimmed and cut into wedges, fronds reserved for garnish
60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for finishing
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp finely cracked black pepper
HONEY & JUNIPER DRESSING
1 tbsp runny honey
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 dried juniper berries, finely chopped or crushed
1 garlic clove, minced
60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt flakes
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley stems, leaves picked and reserved for garnish
FINAL BITS & BOBS
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Pop the wedges of cabbage and red onion on one tray and the carrots and fennel wedges on the other, then brush the vegetables with olive oil, sprinkling the lot with fennel seeds, salt and pepper.
Step 2
Whack the trays into the oven and roast for 45 minutes, or until the vegies start to caramelise and the tips of the onion and cabbage wedges start to curl.
Step 3
Meanwhile, make the honey and juniper dressing by simply whisking everything together.
Step 4
When everything in the oven has capitulated to the wonders of quality time under heat, tumble them into the salad bowl and pour the whisked dressing over. Sprinkle with the chives, reserved parsley leaves and fennel fronds, and finish with a flourish of olive oil, salt flakes and freshly cracked pepper. Serve immediately while hot or at room temperature.
This is an edited extract from Salad for Days by Alice Zaslavsky, photography by Rochelle Eagle. Murdoch Books, RRP $45.
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Alice Zaslavsky is a best-selling cookbook author, host of ‘A Bite to Eat with Alice’ on ABC TV and can be found on the socials as @aliceinframes
