Kupus Salata – Fresh Balkan Cabbage Salad
123kcal
Ingredients
- 17 1/2 oz green cabbage Fresh round white/green cabbage; weight after removing the core and damaged leaves.
- 1 tsp fine table salt Not an equal volume of coarse kosher salt; see salt note.
- 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar Standard 5% acidity.
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
Equipment
- Chef’s knife Or a mandoline with its hand guard.
- Cutting board
- Kitchen scale For the trimmed cabbage and fine salt.
- Large mixing bowl
- Colander Or carefully tilt the bowl to pour off released liquid.
Method
- Prepare the cabbage. Remove damaged outer leaves, rinse the cabbage under running water, and dry it. Cut away the hard core, then weigh the trimmed amount listed in the ingredients. Use a clean board and knife.
- Slice thinly. Slice the cabbage into very fine, even shreds, about 1–2 mm thick. If using a mandoline, use its hand guard and keep your fingers away from the blade. Place the shreds in the mixing bowl.
- Salt and soften. Sprinkle the measured fine salt over the cabbage. Toss and gently massage with clean hands for about 30–60 seconds, just until the shreds start to relax. Leave for 5 minutes; they should soften slightly while retaining some crunch.
- Drain the released liquid. Pour off only the excess liquid that has collected in the bowl, or let it drain briefly in a colander. Do not rinse and do not squeeze the cabbage completely dry.
- Dress and serve. Add the measured vinegar and sunflower oil and toss thoroughly. Serve promptly, or cover and refrigerate until needed. Keep the short salt rest the same when scaling; a larger amount may take longer to slice and mix.
Notes
Cabbage and measurements: Use fresh round white/green cabbage, not sauerkraut or pickled cabbage. Metric preserves the measured formula; the US cabbage weight and tablespoon volumes are rounded practical equivalents.
Salt: The spoon quantity assumes fine table salt at 6 g per teaspoon, based on a label listing 1.5 g per quarter teaspoon. Kosher salt has a different bulk density; weigh it rather than substituting spoon-for-spoon. Do not add extra salt before the short rest and draining are complete.
Texture and timing: Plan about 10 minutes for trimming, slicing, draining, and tossing, plus a 5-minute salt rest. Thin shreds soften more evenly than thick strips. Massage gently rather than crushing the cabbage into a limp mass.
Scaling: At 2x make 8 servings; at 3x make 12. Increase the bowl size and ingredient quantities, but keep the salt rest at about 5 minutes. Extra chopping may extend active preparation time.
Storage: Refrigerate covered at 40°F (4°C) or below within 2 hours, or within 1 hour above 90°F (32°C). For best texture, eat the same day; use refrigerated leftovers within 2 days. Toss again before serving and drain a little new liquid if needed. Vinegar does not make this fresh salad a preserve.
Nutrition estimate: Per quarter of the base recipe, using USDA reference values for raw cabbage, distilled vinegar, and sunflower oil. The calculation uses 500 g trimmed cabbage, about 30 g vinegar, and 40.8 g oil (three USDA tablespoon portions) and assumes all dressing is consumed. The Metric oil volume is a rounded equivalent. Small nutrient losses during draining were not measured. Sodium is deliberately omitted because an unknown amount of the added salt leaves with the drained liquid; the salad is not sodium-free.