Broken-Down Veggies

I went a little Cuisinart happy today. Blitzing veggies into itty bitty bits.

(I use the verb "blitz" when referring to the act of finely mincing things in a food processor. Mine is more than 20 years old, and has the same single blade it came with. Dulllllll. I long ago lost all the other attachments. Blitzing it seems and blitzing it is. Nothing elegant about it. It's food detonation going on in there. In another 20 years I'll call it "juicing.")

For the most part, I use knives and a mandoline to manage veggies when I'm in the kitchen. And that's true, too, when I make cole slaw, because I like superfine ribbons of cabbage.

But today, for some reason, I decided to pull out the cuisinart, and make a fine confetti of the many little bits of veggies I had in the fridge. And I made a terrific little slaw in no time at all. I forgot how good these things taste in the heat, and how filling they are.

I blitzed cabbage, asparagus, zucchini, spinach, a couple of carrots, chives, basil, and parsley, stems and all. Mixed it up with a little mayo (okay on my diet) and mustard, salt and pepper. Simple. Amazingly delicious. So, so pretty.

We tend to think of slaw as just your basic cabbage and carrot affair, but I'll shred or blitz anything in sight to make lovely summer salads. Here are some of my favorites:

Carrots and chives dressed with olive oil and curry. Carrots are too high on the glycemic index for me to enjoy this salad by itself, but if I pair it with a nice chicken breast or a big piece of fish, I can justify it.

Cabbage and radishes dressed with sour cream and mint. The heat of the radish meets the cool of the mint. Very nice. Unusually pink and fresh. This would do well dressed with a vinaigrette, too.

Red and gold peppers and sweet red onions shred into very thin ribbons. A handful of pine nuts,dressed in olive oil, salt and pepper.

Cauliflower and parsley. I like to blitz the cauliflower into a cous-cous-like consistency, sauté/steam it in a non-stick skillet with a little olive oil until it's barely tender. Then stir in lots and lots of chopped parsley. Serve it hot or cold, all by itself or dressed with a little lemon-grette. Wowwee.

Summer squash blitzed up with just a little bit of spring onion. Mix in a bunch of finely blitzed spinach. Dress with mayo, salt, and pepper. Simple, light, and pretty.

Experiment! I like to trade around my slicing and dicing techniques, leaving vegetables at various consistencies, looking for new binders and dressings, new herb and spice combinations. Sometimes I go very complex with lots of different veggies, and sometimes I mince, julienne, shred, or shave just one sort of vegetable, to get at its essential flavors.

This is fun, hot-weather experimentation. A good way to fill up on the high-fiber, low-cal foods we need.

Got your own slaw story? Tell us about it.

JuJu


Atkins search results for "slaw"
Keep-a-week Cole Slaw from lowcarb.ca
Vegetable Patch Slaw from lowcarblife.com
KFC-style low-carb slaw from lowcarbluxury.com

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