- 1 cup (115 grams) cashews
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 pound (455 grams) red cabbage, thinly sliced or shredded (about 4 cups)
- 1 small or half a large fennel bulb, halved and sliced thin (about 1 cup)
- 3 regular or 4 thin scallions, thinly sliced (green and white parts)
- A small handful fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
- 3 mandarins (clementines and other small oranges work here), divided
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sumac, plus more for finishing
- Spiced cashews (from above)
Spiced cashews
Assembly
Make the spiced cashews: Heat your oven to 400°F. Place the cashews in a colander and rinse them with water, but no need to shake them off. (This gets them the perfect amount of wet for the spices to stick.) Transfer to a bowl, add the sugar, salt, cayenne, and paprika and stir so that they’re evenly coated. If the mixture seems a little dry, add 1 more teaspoon of water. Spread the cashews out on a small, parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until the nuts are darker and I actually like them with some black spots, so I’ll put them in for up to another 3 to 5 minutes, just watch carefully so that they don’t completely burn. Let the nuts cool completely on the tray. [I stick them outside and let the winter air take care of it.]
Assemble the salad: Combine cabbage, fennel, scallions, and mint in a large bowl. Juice one of your mandarins and pour 2 tablespoons of the juice into a small bowl. (Any extra should be thrown back like an immunity booster shot.) Add white wine vinegar, olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, many grinds of black pepper, and sumac and whisk to combine. Pour over cabbage mixture and taste, adding more seasoning as needed. If you’re making the salad ahead of time, you can keep this mixture marinating for a couple hours; it won’t go to mush.
Peel your remaining two mandarins and separate them into segments. Pile half of your dressed salad mixture on a serving plate, sprinkle with half the mandarin and half of the cashews. It will seem like a lot of cashews but they’re really the star of the show here. Repeat with remaining salad, mandarin, and cashews and dig in.
