If you are lucky, you own a mandoline (a professional chef’s tool that makes slicing vegetables thin an easy chore) or even an old-fashioned coleslaw slicer. If not, shred the cabbage as thin as you can with a good sharp knife. The amount of salt you use depends on your taste and your cabbage. This makes a great winter salad, by itself or tossed together with salad greens.

　　

Ingredients

makes 6 servings

　　1 small white cabbage (about 2 pounds; or 1/2 medium, 4-pound cabbage)

　　2 to 3 tablespoons kosher salt or coarse sea salt

　　3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

　　2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

　　Freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Remove the tough and discolored outer leaves from the cabbage and cut the cabbage in half through the core. Cut out the core and shred the cabbage, with a mandoline or with a sharp knife, as thin as possible. You will have about 12 cups.

　　

Step 2

Toss the shredded cabbage well with 2 tablespoons of the salt in a large bowl. Let marinate in the refrigerator for about 1 1/2 hours. Check the bottom of the bowl. There should be at least 2 tablespoons of water, and the cabbage should have lost some of its crunch. If not, toss in the remaining tablespoon of salt. In either case, return the cabbage to the refrigerator and marinate until wilted, about 1 1/2 hours.

　　

Step 3

Drain the cabbage well and taste it. If it is a little salty for your taste, rinse it briefly under cold water. Using your hands, squeeze out as much water as possible from a handful of the cabbage at a time, transferring each handful to a serving bowl as you do. Pour the olive oil and vinegar over the cabbage, and toss and fluff it with a fork. Taste, and season with pepper.

　　From Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich Copyright © 2001 by A La Carte Communications and Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Published by arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.Buy the full book from Amazon.