Warm Red Cabbage Pasta

I am absolutely in love with this salad from 101cookbooks but after I had it the first time I realized that it could easily become a main course. The second time I made the salad I served it over a large bed of spinach leaves and added Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette to the salad. It was amazing!! I also made a simple pasta (angel hair with garlic olive oil and Parmesan) to go with it. This was so good that I thought why not serve it over the pasta. So, the next time I made it I served the warm red cabbage over angel hair, adding finely chopped kale to the sauteing onions, and garnished the pasta with Brianna's dressing and grated Parmesan cheese. Perfection!

We absolutely love it as a salad served over spinach leaves or as a pasta dish served over angel hair or Fusilli. I like the lightness of the angel hair but I think in the end I prefer a tubular pasta because it grabs the cabbage, nuts and dried fruit better.




The Ever Evolving Warm Red Cabbage Pasta or Salad

1/2 cups of nuts (I use walnuts)
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar (or brown sugar)
fine grain sea salt

3/4- 1Lb. Pasta (Fusilli or Angel Hair) or Fresh Spinach Leaves

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4 medium cloves of garlic, minced

1 pound head of red cabbage, quartered and cut into thin ribbons

1 t. fresh rosemary, minced
2 ounces craisins, raisins, or other plump, chopped dried fruit
1 1/2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled

Grated Parmesan cheese and Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette, to garnish

Roast the nuts in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until golden brown. Sprinkle on the sugar and couple of pinches of salt. Stir until the sugar melts and coats the nuts. Transfer to a plate and let cool.

Cook pasta according to package directions or if making the Spinach salad version, wash and dry spinach leaves.

Heat olive oil in large skillet and saute the onion for a minute or two with a couple of pinches of salt. Stir in the garlic, and the cabbage, and a few more pinches of salt. Stir and cook for just a minute or so, or until the cabbage softens up JUST A TOUCH. Then stir in rosemary, raisins, and the vinegar. Fold in the feta cheese and nuts. Pour cabbage mixture over pasta or spinach leaves and drizzle with Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette. Garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.