I’m not kidding when I say that I could eat this salad all day long. Not only is it dressed with a vinaigrette made of some of my favorite flavors, ginger and sesame, but it is healthy and refreshing, which is a nice contrast to some of the heavier stews and soups that are passing across my stovetop. While cabbage, cashews and pear may seem like a mismatched team, the sweet and nutty flavors work as well as football players on Dancing with the Stars. Seriously, who knew those big guys could be so light on their feet?
After our bout of snow, we have been spoiled by a gorgeous October, with temperatures in the mid-sixties and abundant sun warming us to our core. I’ve actually been wearing shorts on my daily runs, though I don’t claim it’s been pretty (faded suntan makes for glowing white legs). As though sensing that our mild days are numbered, the boys spent most of the weekend outside, playing on the swings, kicking the soccer ball around and making “nature stew” in their dumptruck. What is nature stew, you ask? Soft tomatoes from the vine, sage and mint leaves, grass and the odd weed. I’m sure some little garden creature will have a feast.
My husband and I are pulling the remaining pears off of our little-tree-that-could, which provided plenty of fruit this season for Crockpot Pear & Ginger Applesauce. As much as we enjoy eating them straight or in applesauce, the pears add a natural sweetness to salads such as this Asian slaw. This salad is the last hurrah before the cold weather hits this week and I am savoring every last bite of it.
The recipe:
In a large bowl, combine Napa cabbage, red cabbage, pear, cashews and cilantro. Toss to combine.
For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, sesame oil, canola oil, lime juice and grated ginger.
Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve.
Other slaw recipes:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Spicy Asian Slaw with Napa Cabbage, Carrots & Ginger Dressing
Smitten Kitchen’s Mango Slaw with Cashews & Mint
David Lebovitz’s Cole Slaw with Wasabi Dressing
Guilty Kitchen’s Apple Fennel Slaw
TasteFood’s Kale Slaw
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
- 1/2 medium Nappa Cabbage, thinly sliced crosswise
- 1/4 medium red cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1 Bartlett pear, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, toasted
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- Dressing:
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine Napa cabbage, red cabbage, pear, cashews and cilantro. Toss to combine.
- For the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, sesame oil, canola oil, lime juice and grated ginger.
- Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to coat. Serve.






















{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I love pears so, so much. This sounds delicious!
Love the flavors in this. I can see myself enjoying this by itself or with some of your ginger pork
i have been craving asian flavors big time lately…this looks incredible!
I am obsessed with slaw and this one looks really wonderful!
My kind of slaw! Looks wonderful!
this looks packed full of flavor and so easy to whip together! perfect!
I believe I could eat anything with cashews all day long. What a fabulous complement to the ginger dressing.
I’m with you, Dara, I could eat salad all day-especially this slaw. I’m loving the cashew and pear pairing. The ginger dressing is a good touch for a bit of spice and added depth of flavor!
I make a salad with cashews and raisins and cabbage that I could eat all day ( and sometimes do) I love the combination of pear and ginger! It looks fabulous.
This looks so crunch and tasty! I wish I could have this in about an hour for lunch! Gorgeous post.
Dara this looks awesome. I love dressings like this and the salad looks so light and bright and perfect!
love the flavors !! looks so delish
I love pears…can you believe I have never had them in a salad before? Must try!
omg can’t wait to make this!
That sounds and looks so fantastic. I would say that is the perfect melding of flavors and textures. Cannot wait to try it.
“Nature stew”… gotta love it!
Your salad has such a wonderful mix of flavors and textures, Dara — looking forward to trying it!
Dara, I think I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner, too! I adore an Asian take on slaw and your additions look marvelous!
I cannot wait to make this. It literally sounds like the perfect salad.
Beautiful dish, Dara! It reminds of a recipe that my aunt makes and it’s a family favorite. Craving it!
This October has been remarkably nice, hasn’t it? Just wait until tomorrow…I’m not sure I’m ready.
This salad is right up my alley – love all the flavors in it, and the addition of sweet pears is perfect – you’re so lucky to have that little pear tree!
Great salad. Full of flavor. Thanks
I do not find it strange one bit that you have young chefs cooking stew in dump trucks… Dara, the flavors sound incredible, and you are right, I would not have thought of ‘em.. glad you did, the vinaigrette is so refreshingly pure summer and sounds like it matches perfectly with the cabbages, like the use of the sweet pear here too… good vibes on this taste sensation
Oh MY! The flavors and textures look and sound amazing!
Sounds like a great crunchy fresh combination, I love Asian vinaigrettes.
Cashews, pear and ginger. Mmm. I can almost taste it! Love this fusion dara!
This sounds wonderful! I love the sound of the dressing especially
We love Asian slow–I like that you added pear, sounds delicious!
The pears are a great idea – this would be a perfect light dinner with some chicken on top. I am definitely bookmarking this one!
This salad sounds heavenly! What a unique touch with the pears! Thanks!
I am slaw crazy and add cashews and I’ll sit down and eat the whole bowl.
That just sounds perfectly refreshing and you make the best dressings!
Oh yes please. This sounds amazing.
You’re right, that does sound like a mismatched team. I’ve never had nuts in a slaw before, but man, that sounds really good!
YUM! Sounds fantastic Dara! I love cabbage slaws. I bookmarked this one!!! Yum.
xoxo
Heather
All things I love in a salad…and I mean love. Why don’t I use cashews for salads I wonder? Will now!
Such a great use of pears!!!
Looks super yummy! I love slaws.
Dara- this looks so fresh and delicious! I just love the flavor and texture combinations!
This slaw looks wonderful and I love the combination of flavors. With all the heavier fall foods, this is a nice change!!
I just love all of the different flavor combos that you have in this slaw. I have a couple of nifty ideas bouncing around in my head for this recipe
Mmm, mmm.
Loving the flavor combos!! Looks so bright, fresh and yummy.
This really sounds wonderful, Dara. I love sesame ginger dressing too, so I can imagine how much you like this salad!
I could eat this salad all day long & all year long. Love. It.
I need to try this !! May sub with toasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower since I can’t have cashews. Hopefully it won’t alter
I would be happy if all I had to eat was Asian slaw. I make it all the time and it’s great for lunches. The addition of cashews is a yummy twist I will need to try!
I just recently became a fan of slaw in general never knowing it outside of that small dish of mayo you get from time to time at a restaurant) but I’m loving it – especially ones with kicks in flavor like this one certainly has! This is a beautiful slaw and the cashews and pears too… beautiful!
looks delicious, flavors como is so GREAT! Wish I had a bowl full right now
Pears in slaw, what a wonderful idea!
This looks amazing, Dara!
I can just imagine all these wonderful flavors (I’m a huge ginger fan). What a great winter salad! Thank you for sharing at the salad recipe roundup.
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