A Red Cabbage and Pumpkin seed Salad (gf)

I made a Mexican inspired oven baked bean stew today and served it with polenta and this salad. I wanted something that was fresh and tangy but also had lots of texture to go with my earthly, chili tomato baked stew and silky polenta. So I made this exciting dish which complemented the meal but also held its own, unlike many sad salads that are dumped on the table as a second thought!

The fresh crispness of the vegetables, tanginess of the vinegar and lemon juice topped with the crunch of seeds complements the whole meal by adding that texture and freshness that the other dishes needed to shine!!

As usual I haven't been specific on the amount and ratio as your preferences may be different to mine!

RECIPE

Red cabbage
Yellow Pepper
Celery
Red onion
Gherkin
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
A little sprinkle of mustard seeds and Flax seeds

Dressing
Squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil

METHOD

1) Finally slice the pepper and celery and slice the red cabbage in thin slices but still thick enough to give a crunch and place in a bowl.
2) Then finally slice the amount of red onion you want and place it in a different bowl with a little red wine vinegar to remove the raw taste, and leave for a minute or so then squeeze a little of the vinegar out of the onion and add to the salad bowl.
3) Chop the amount of gherkin you want into small pieces and add to the bowl.
4) In a pan (any one will do!) toast all the seeds until slightly browned and turn off the heat.
5) 10 minutes before you serve the salad add the lemon juice and olive oil (amount to your taste) and toss the salad in it.
6) Just before you serve the salad sprinkle the toasted seeds on the top (doing this immediately before you serve, means that the seeds with be crunchy and not soft, giving that extra satisfying crunch!)