The Crunchy Cabbage Salsa You’ll Put on Everything
My parents live across the cascade mountains from us. It’s a couple hours drive to them beginning in the lush green forests west of the mountains, cresting the cascades to the arid and open landscapes of central Washington. I’ve made this trip over the cascades hundreds of times and each time there’s a feeling of levity that comes when my eye can scan wide open landscapes, the traffic diminishes, and the clouds give way to beams of sunshine.
A Homemade Take on Mama Torrez’ Cabbage Salsa
We love visiting them and we love the valley they live in. It’s full of recreation, friendly people, and the geography we are drawn to. At one of the local grocery stores there, we came across Mama Torrez’ coleslaw. It’s a pico de gallo style salsa made with cabbage instead of tomatoes. It’s delicious. It has all the flavors of pico de gallo against the sweetness and crispness of cabbage. Whenever we’d see this at the store, we’d get it. And then we started noticing that we were paying $5 for a small tub of what was basically cabbage and seasonings. Cabbage is one of the most humble of vegetables – organic is usually less than $2/lb. We figured we could easily make something close to this. Now it’s one of our go-to snacks.
Ways To Use
- Topping for tacos
- Garnish for enchiladas
- Chips & salsa
- Side for Mexican meals with tortilla chips
FAQS
If I don’t want to chop by hand, can I use a food processor?
Yes, you can. The chop may be a bit finer than what you see in the photos, but that’s ok. Give it a shot and experiment. A food processor could save lots of time especially if you’re making a bigger batch.
I’m afraid to use a whole jalapeño because I’m sensitive to spice, how should I adapt the recipe?
I’d suggest removing the seeds from the jalapeño, but still using one whole jalapeño. Without the seeds, the pepper lacks a lot of heat.
I like it spicier, how should I adjust?
Either use more jalapeño or sub in a spicier pepper, like serrano or habenero.
How long does this store in the refrigerator?
It actually gets better as it sits. It’ll keep for 4-6 days, at least.
cabbage salsa
Ingredients
- ½ head of green cabbage, chopped in very small pieces
- ½ red onion, chopped
- ½ jalapeno, chopped
- ½ bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- Steak seasoning of choice (we like McCormick’s Himalayan Pink Salt with Black Pepper and Garlic)
Instructions
Chop the first five ingredients and place in a large bowl. You’ll want to chop these all small so that they’re not too complicated to load on a chip. To the chopped vegetables, add the next three ingredients and toss.
Notes
Inspired by:
Mama Torrez