I first tasted this fantastic, Italian side-dish at the delightful Fratelli Fresh restaurant when it opened in Potts Point, Sydney. I had never had such a simple yet punchy salad that just showed off quality ingredients so well. And I loved it was raw. I could instantly see how I could put it together myself, and how easy it would be - the idea was the winner – 5 simple ingredients : - cabbage, lemon, aged balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil and pecorino cheese. All I needed was to spend some money on a top aged balsamic – this is the key here and worth every penny if you love this accompaniment with your salads – a good one should be at least $60 to warn you though. I am not sure if this would work without the depth of flavour it has. Plus you need a wonderful Italian, hard cheese to top it all off. Once you have this balsamic in your cupboard you will love it, and you can serve this with almost any Italian meal, it is a winner.
Pictured: Shaved Italian Cabbage Salad with Aged Balsamic and Pecorino1 savoy cabbage or 2 baby savoy cabbages – halved and cored and thinly shaved on a mandolin or slowly with a sharp knife – as thin as possible
Juice of 1 lemon
75ml extra-virgin olive oil
50g finely shaved or grated pecorino or top Italian parmesan
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar
Place the shaved cabbage in a bowl large enough to toss with the lemon and extra-virgin olive oil, place on a serving dish - drizzle with the aged balsamic vinegar and scatter over the cheese.
Serves 4