Red Cabbage, Date & Feta Salad

I love salads. I always have romaine in the fridge. Some days, I add more veggies ... carrots, colored peppers, tomatoes and such. Other days, I go with a more fruit-centric salad atop the greens, using whatever fruit is handy and topping everything with raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

But even with me trying to mix things up with the toppings, it can feel like we're in a rut. So when I saw a salad with red cabbage on my Facebook feed, I decided it was just the thing to shake up my ho-hum salad choices.

Feta cheese often makes its way into the fruit-based salads I make. Dates are not an ingredient I usually have on my salad radar, though I have them on hand for quick breads and muffins. But I loved the combo of the salty feta and the sweet dates along with the lime-infused cabbage.

This week, I served the salad alongside grilled steak and baked potatoes. The cabbage would be a natural with pork, but since beef is what's for dinner for this cow-calf-raising Kansas farm, beef it is! It made a colorful and tasty side dish that will be making encore appearances on the County Line! 

I served the salad with steak and baked potatoes - a colorful, tasty addition!

Red Cabbage, Date & Feta Salad

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 to 1 1/4 lbs. red cabbage (1 small head or half of a large one)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. honey
Salt to taste
Pepper (or red pepper flakes) to taste
1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

Shred or thinly slice cabbage. (I used the grating blade on my food processor.) Combine oil, lime juice and honey, blending well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour dressing over red cabbage. Toss to coat. Taste and add more lime juice, salt and pepper, if needed. Toss dressed cabbage with half of dates and half of feta; stir. Sprinkle with remaining dates, feta and toasted sesame seeds. Serve.

The whole salad can be assembled and sit for at least an hour. (But leftovers are good, too. The cabbage just isn't as crisp.) You can prepare the parts separately to assemble right before serving, if doing this for a potluck, church dinner, holiday meal, etc.

The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of chopped flat-leaf parsley. Since I didn't have that, I omitted it, and it was still tasty.

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I'm linked today to the Weekend Potluck. Click on the link to find more tasty recipes from bloggers. Thanks to the potluck hostesses:

• The Better Baker ~ Marsha
• The Country Cook~ Brandie
• Sweet Little Bluebird~ Mary