Stir Fried Cabbage Salad with Mushrooms & Quinoa

Cabbage Salad Bowl

Cabbage is often regarded as a bit of a boring vegetable. However nothing could be further from the truth. Its just what we do to it that can so easily ruin it! Boil any brassica for more than 10 minutes and you are left with a tasteless sulphurous smelling dish. I like cabbage for a number of reasons. Firstly it is a very healthy vegetable with amazing properties see here: http://level1health.com/why-the-bad-smelling-vegetables-like-broccoli-cabbage-cauliflower-brussels-sprouts-may-be-the-healthiest/. It is also very helpful for those who wish to slim being low on the calorie front. It is so very flexible you can match it with many different ingredients and even serve it as a light salad in summertime. This is a recipe (for 6 persons) I developed over the last few weeks and I think you will love it for both health properties of all the ingredients as well as for texture and taste. Let me know what you think!

You will need:

I fresh green cabbage
2 Charlotte onions
1 clove garlic
100g pearl barley
100g quinoa
200g button mushrooms thinly sliced
1 fresh chili
250ml balsamic vinegar
Pinch of sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
Tablespoon of sake (optional)

Method:

Wash the cabbage thoroughly removing any leaves which may be damaged. Once cleaned, roll up the leaves like a tight thick cigar and using a sharp vegetable knife, cut the leaves into very fine shreds. Place the shredded cabbage into a glass container. Finely chop the onions and garlic into shreds and add to the cabbage. Sprinkle the cabbage with the balsamic vinegar toss well and leave for 30 minutes. Boil the pearl barley for 30 minutes and once cooked strain and let cool. Boil the quinoa for 10 minutes, strain and let cool. Place a large skillet on the gas and raise the heat to maximum for a few minutes. Using an oil of your choice (I prefer coconut oil) add the cabbage, sake, balsamic vinegar and chili stir frying for about four minutes. Remove from skillet, strain and add to mixing bowl and let cool. Add the thinly sliced mushrooms to the skillet and stir fry till soft (about 4 minutes stirring often). Remove and add to the cabbage in the mixing bowl. Add the barley, mushrooms and quinoa to the mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper as required. This dish is to be served cold as a salad but is equally good served hot.