Lunch Recipes

Winter Slaw with Jicama

Crunchy cabbage, crisp, lightly sweet jicama, chunks of juicy mango and papaya, and spicy candied macadamia nuts — this slaw is full of vibrant color and texture. It’s just plain fun. We dressed it in a punchy vinaigrette of lime, maple syrup, sesame oil, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. It’s exactly the right combination of salty, sweet, and spicy to pull all the elements of the salad together.

We feel compelled to make a plug for going the extra mile and making the candied macadamia nuts. Between the cabbage and jicama, the salad has plenty of soft crunch already — but the nuts add a hard, roasted crunch that’s extremely satisfying. They make the salad a little heartier too. And of course, they taste like beer snacks: In the test kitchen, we had to make a second batch. We left the first to cool on a sheet of wax paper and ended up eating it before we’d even made the salad. Take our advice and make two batches from the get-go.

As a side dish, this little slaw will give your winter meals a little of summer’s vivacity. If the New Year has you craving light, punchy meals, you could pick up a Gelson’s rotisserie chicken and turn your slaw into a dinner salad. Better yet, meal preppers, a week’s worth of stunning lunches.

Our tip: If you decide to meal prep this beauty, keep all the prepped ingredients separate, and compose your salads each morning. Otherwise, you’ll have a soggy slaw.

Winter Slaw with Jicama
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Lunch

Winter Slaw with Jicama

Serves: 6

Ingredients

For the dressing:
½ cup lime juice
1 lemongrass stalk, chopped into small pieces
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
½ tsp red chile flakes
4 Tbsp light olive oil
Kosher salt, to taste
For the salad:
6 oz Gelson’s macadamia nuts
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp red chile flakes
7 leaves Savoy cabbage, shredded
½ head red cabbage, shredded
1 mango, peeled, stoned and cut into thin strips
½ papaya, peeled, deseeded and cut into strips
1 small jicama root, cut into thin strips
1 long red chile, seeded and cut into thin strips
½ cup Gelson’s organic fresh mint leaves, for garnish
¾ cup Gelson’s organic fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions

  1. To make the dressing: In a small saucepan, over medium low heat, combine all the ingredients except the olive oil. Cook and reduce for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the dressing is thick and syrupy. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
  2. When the dressing has cooled, strain it into a bowl. Add the olive oil and stir to combine. Season with salt to taste and set aside.
  3. To make the nuts: In a medium frying pan, over medium high heat, dry roast the macadamias for a few minutes until lightly browned on all sides, shaking them now and then to make sure they don’t burn.
  4. Add the butter, allow it to melt, and then add the sugar, salt, and chile flakes. Cook for 1 minute, stirring the mixture constantly to keep the nuts coated in the sugar as it caramelizes. Be careful not to burn the nuts.
  5. Transfer the nuts to a sheet of wax paper. Allow the nuts to cool before roughly chopping.
  6. To compose the salad: In a large salad bowl, combine the cabbages, mango, papaya, jicama, chile, and candied macadamia nuts. Drizzle on the dressing and toss to coat the salad. Taste and adjust the salt if necessary. Garnish with mint and cilantro. Serve immediately.