Warm potato, cabbage and apple salad

A versatile and delicious dish!

While my husband and I are the kind of nutty people who think nothing of grilling outdoors year-round (yes, even when it’s minus 20C and snowing like crazy), we do appreciate the joys of being able to fire up the barbeque in warmer weather to cook many of our meals. I’m always thinking about new vegetable side dishes to accompany whatever fish or meat we are grilling and a recent ‘clean out the fridge’ moment yielded this delicious sweet-and-sour salad that can do double-duty as a main dish if you like. If you like this dish, you might also enjoy my purple cabbage and apple salad, or one of the many other cabbage recipes on this site which you can find using the search tool.

Ingredients

• 5 teaspoons (25 mL) melted bacon fat (or olive oil), divided
• 2 cups (400 g) diced baby potatoes (no need to peel)
• 3/4 cup (120 g) diced onion
• 1/2 cup (60 g) diced celery
• 2 medium sized apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 5 cups (445 g) chopped Savoy or Napa cabbage
• 1 1/2 cups (225 g) halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• Few pinches each salt and pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seeds (optional but delicious)
• 1 tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon (15 mL) water

Method

• Put 3 teaspoons (15 mL) of the bacon fat or olive oil in a very large skillet placed over medium heat. Once warmed, add the diced potatoes and cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes, until potatoes are beginning to brown. Place a lid on the pan and cook 3-4 minutes more, until potatoes are just tender.
• Push potatoes to the outer edge of the pan. Add remaining fat or oil to the empty space in the centre. Once warmed, add the onions, celery and apple. Cook, gently stirring the onions, celery and apples often, for 4-5 minutes, until onions are translucent and softened.
• Add the chopped cabbage and halved tomatoes to the skillet with the potato and onion mixture. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, celery seed and sugar then drizzle with vinegar and water. Gently stir to combine well. Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage has wilted and is tender.
• Taste and adjust seasoning to suit your preferences. Serve warm.

Makes 5-6 generous servings as a side dish or 4 as a main course.