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by Nadia Sawalha

This crunchy winter slaw is a delicious, and healthy, accompaniment for leftover roast beef.

Each serving provides 400kcal, 6g protein, 16g carbohydrate (of which 16g sugars), 31g fat (of which 3g saturates), 11g fibre and 0.2g salt.

Starters & nibbles

Buyer's guide

Look for bright, firm leaves with no blemishes, slime or brown patches. A good rule-of-thumb is that fresh cabbage leaves should ‘squeak’ when you rub them together. Buy cabbage with the outer leaves attached, even if you discard them later, as these leaves protect the centre of the cabbage and help keep it moist.

There are many varieties of green cabbage, with different cropping times, so some sort of green cabbage is available most of the year.

Storage

Store in a cool, dark place or the fridge. If left uncut and loosely wrapped in plastic, a green cabbage will keep for a week or two. However, eat green cabbage as fresh as possible as it loses nutrients if stored for too long. Once cut, wrap the unused portion in cling film and store in the salad drawer of the fridge. Use within a day or two.

To freeze green cabbage, wash it thoroughly, shred finely and blanch for two minutes. Drain, plunge into ice water, then drain again and pack into polythene bags. Cook from frozen in boiling, salted water.

Preparation

To prepare green cabbages, discard any tired outside leaves and cut away tough stalks or central ribs. Pile the leaves together, shred and rinse thoroughly. Cook gently in olive oil or butter, or steam or stir-fry. Alternatively, roll and stuff the leaves with meat and rice.