• ¾ cup walnuts
• 2 tsp. walnut oil
• salt
• pepper
• 1 small red cabbage
• 1 crisp red apple
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 ½ Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 3-4 oz. goat cheese, broken into large pieces
• 1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped
• ½ tsp. marjoram, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix walnut pieces with walnut oil, some salt and freshly-ground pepper,  Toast them in oven for 5-7 minutes, or until they begin to smell nutty.  Let them cool.  Quarter the cabbage, core, and slice thinly crosswise.  Cut the apple into sixths, core, then slice thinly crosswise.  Put the garlic, vinegar, and oil in a wide saute pan over medium-high heat.  As soon as they are hot, add onion and saute for 30 seconds.  Add cabbage and continue to cook, stirring, for approximately 2 minutes, until just wilted.  Season with salt, plenty of pepper, and more vinegar, if necessary, to sharpen the flavors.  Add the goat cheese, apple, herbs, and walnuts.  Toss briefly and serve.

Serves four to six.

From The Greens Cookbook by Deborah Madison with Edward Espe Brown.

We’ve made a variation on this salad by eliminating the apple and starting the whole process by cooking a few strips of bacon in the pan before sautéing the onion.  We add the vinegar at the end.