Well, for someone who had about 0.07% brain power on Friday, I sure did come up with a delicious salad. When the perfectness of the first bite took me by surprise, I turned to E and said, I don’t know, maybe thinking is overrated. What was so good about it, you ask? It’s equal parts icy cold, crispy, paper thin shredded green cabbage and dense, creamy, sweet honeynut squash, brightened by apple cider vinegar and red onions pickled in warm spices. The frills are few, but go a long way to make it seem special: a little fresh dill, a splash of maple syrup, pops of flaky salt and the tang of sumac. It could easily be a full meal with the addition of pumpkin seeds, crumbled Greek feta and sourdough toast.
The void where thoughts used to be is definitely still… voiding today. Last week that made me feel anxious— a writer with no thoughts, how terrible! But now, the proud inventor of an excellent new salad, I am a cook with only instincts. At least that’s the story I’m telling myself. Tonight I’m eager to eat the salad again, this time alongside leftover posole bulked out with green beans from the yard. If you too would like to experience what surprisingly nice things can come out of a thoughtless void, here’s the recipe:
Thoughtless Salad
serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a meal (see note above)
2T olive oil
2T apple cider vinegar
1T maple syrup
sea salt to taste
1/4 head large green cabbage
2 small honeynut squash
as many pickled red onions as your heart desires (I probably used 3T? 1/4 cup?)
2 heaping Tablespoons roughly chopped dill
flaky salt + sumac to garnish
Do ahead: make the pickled red onions. I strongly suggest David Lebovitz’s recipe for its balanced sugar to vinegar ratio and Fall flavors of allspice, clove and bay. They need to sit in the fridge for about 3 days to taste perfect.
1. Preheat your oven to 400F. Peel squash and slice into 1/4-1/2” strips. Toss in olive oil, salt and a tiny pinch of sugar. Roast until soft and lightly caramelized, about 20-25 minutes.
2. While the squash cools, make the dressing (I am partial to a lively shake in a restaurant style squeeze bottle), finely shred the cabbage and chop the dill.
3. Toss everything together with the onions, then add the dressing— permission to use as much or as little as you want. Garnish with a pinch of flaky salt and sumac, serve immediately.
Such perfection for a simple Fall salad - salads like that often grace my Thanksgiving table.