Make it in under 15 minutes using ingredients you already have–now there's a veggie in the fridge ready to use in all kinds of meals. 

IKYK, you need to eat more veggies, but who wants to come home and prep after a long day? Even I, your healthy pal, am often too tired to start chopping at 6 p.m. Plus, it's already a hot summer, please don't make me turn on the stove.

Enter the humble cabbage. It's cheap, unbelievably nutritious, regulates blood sugar (which keeps hunger nice and calm), and is a tonic for digestive health. You can stop buying probiotics because cabbage helps your good gut bacteria grow and crowd out the bad stuff. 

There's more, but it's nice to know one cruciferous vegetable can do so much good. Here's how to make it at home a la COOK! without a recipe or buying new ingredients, using the principles of the four-ingredient dressing.

Buy one head of red cabbage. 

Chop it in half. Admire the beauty.

I suggest using one half at a time. The funny thing about cabbage is that once you chop it, it multiplies. Half a red cabbage feeds me for about a week.

This is essentially a slaw, but nothing like the goopy mess we've become accustomed to. Think crisp, fresh, and flavorful. Ready to pair with any protein or grain you already have. This is modular cooking.

Scroll down for suggested variations.

1. Chop it into bite-size pieces. Not too small or it's a salad hash. Not too big, so you're not slurping it like noodles. Don't worry too much about uniformity. Plop it into a large bowl.

2. Add the acid. For this preparation, I used rice wine vinegar. You can use lemon, lime, sherry vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. What do you have in the cabinet? Use that.

3. Add the salt. I used tamari (soy) sauce, but for another version, I added coarse, grey salt. Kosher salt and miso work too. Add just a bit less than you think it might need. Add more after tasting.

4. Knead it like dough. Yes, get your hand in there to mix and break the cabbage down a little. 1-2 minutes tops.

5. Add fat. I used neutral sesame oil. EVOO or any cold-pressed oil is perfect. Drizzle a little, don't drench.

6. Add spices, condiments, or pastes. I added chili crunch and toasted sesame seeds. Next time, I'm going to try gojujang. The last time I made it, I crushed some whole spice seeds. Don't go overboard. One to three things is more than enough, especially if the quality is high.

Taste and adjust. Add herbs if you like, or some scallions.

This will keep in your fridge for a week. I ate it for breakfast with an egg. For lunch, with tofu and peanut dressing. Add it to rice and a can of quality tuna. Yum, yum, yum.

Learning to make a dressing is foundational to no-recipe cooking. That's why I teach all variations in COOK! This cabbage preparation is just another way to use that vital skill.

A building block to joyful cooking, if you will.

Tag me on Insta to show me how you use yours.

Variations

Different flavor profiles to play with using the same formula.