Red cabbage, blue cheese and walnut slaw

I know all this cold weather would usually mean a slate of hot recipes, but I've been wanting to post this recipe for a winter salad for some time now. It's what I've been regularly eating for lunch for, oh, several weeks if I'm honest. It's truly one of the best salads I've ever eaten, or made for that matter. I won't lie that the blue cheese and walnuts are probably what really makes it special, but it's so good that you shouldn't let those toppings blind you to what lies beneath.

Start by slicing up about a quarter of a red cabbage. Or half a small one. Cabbages are so cheap and they keep well in your fridge for a very long time.

Next, slice up about half a fennel. Cut off the green tops first and get rid of the core.

The original recipe calls for a Russet apple, which is what's here. But I've made successful substitutions with Empires and Suncrisp too. I'm sure any variety would work.

Here it is all mixed up and dressed. It does require a bit of chopping time, but once you've got that out of the way, I find the salad keeps really well for a few days. The dressing doesn't make anything soggy, and the colour of the cabbage somehow never bleeds into the other veggies.

Top it off with some crumbled blue cheese and some walnuts and you've got a really great side or starter. Add some leftover chicken or steak and you've got a truly yummy lunch or dinner.

Red cabbage, blue cheese and walnut slaw
From Nigel Slater's Tender Vol. 1

A salad for a light lunch or maybe a first course.

Per person

red cabbage - ¼

fennel - ½ medium-sized bulb

russet apple - 1

lemon juice - a little

medium carrot - 1

blue cheese such as harborne, cashel or beenleigh - 150g

walnuts - a handful

celery - a rib

for the dressing:

mild red wine vinegar - 2 tbs

smooth Dijon mustard - 2 tsp

groundnut oil - 3 tbs *I use a combination of olive and walnut oils
walnut oil - 2 tbs

caster sugar - a pinch

Shred the cabbage and fennel. Core the apple, slice finely and toss in a little lemon juice. Shred the carrot into matchsticks (or grate it very coarsely). Slice the cheese thinly. Toast the walnuts in a non-stick pan till they smell warm and nutty. Thinly slice the celery.

Make the dressing by mixing the vinegar and mustard with a little salt and black pepper. Beat in the groundnut and walnut oils, then taste, and add a little sugar if necessary. Toss the salad ingredients together, gently, so you don't break up the cheese too much. Divide between plates and drizzle over the dressing.