Winter Coleslaw with Cashews

As soon as I tasted this salad I had to make it!  It is a Daylesford Organics recipe (though I have changed some of the quantities).  I usually make it with Savoy cabbage too, rather than the white cabbage in their recipe (however, the store didn’t have any when I was taking photos for the site, so they show the white cabbage).  The most laborious part of the recipe is shredding and chopping the vegetables.  If you have a mandolin (a much under-rated kitchen implement) you can do this in  double quick time.  If not, a knife will do the trick.  The dressing can be made ahead of time.  In fact, you could make the salad the day before you wanted it too –  but if I was doing that I wouldn’t add the herbs until the last minute as they would wilt.

1. First, toast the cashew nuts. Put them into a frying pan over medium heat and move them about with a spoon while they cook.  They are high in oil so can burn very easily – don’t take your eyes off them!  They should take about 5 minutes to toast.  They will also continue to cook if you leave them in the hot pan so as soon as they are golden, tip them into a bowl or dish.
   
2. To make the dressing, put the soy, honey, lime, ginger and garlic into a small pot and stir them over a low heat until they are combined.  Pour the liquid into a jar or bowl and leave it to cool to room temperature.  Blitz 1/4 Cup of the toasted cashews in a food processor (or if you don’t have one, chop them very finely) then add the liquid carefully and pulse to combine.  The dressing can then be set aside until the salad is ready.  (It makes 260ml).
   
3. To prepare the ingredients, remove the outer leaves of the cabbages, the tough white stalk and any big white ribs in the leaves. shred the cabbage finely. Remove the ends of the carrots and peel them.  Then use the vegetable peeler to make thick “peelings” of the carrot.
   
   Do the same thing with the beetroot – remove the top and bottom and the peel and use the peeler to take circular peelings across the bottom of the beetroot.  (It’s a messy job – A pair of disposable gloves would be a good idea, but I’m not organised enough for that so I can sometimes be found improvising with a plastic bag over each hand, clumsily grasping the peeler and trying not to look like I’ve been involved in a crime scene!). Then remove the stalk and seeds from a red pepper and finely slice that. Peel, halve and slice the red onion thinly and add that to the other vegetables too.  Roughly chop the toasted cashews and add them to the salad.  Add the chopped mint and coriander just prior to serving.
4. When everything is chopped and prepared, pour the dressing over and give everything a good mix before arranging the salad on a large platter or in a serving dish.