I Dare You Toast Leftover Coleslaw
“What are you working on?” my father asked me with sincere curiosity. “I’m frying a KFC kale salad,” I told him. My dad just finished telling me he does “about six surgeries a day”, which is “not that many”. We all have our roles, and I recognized that the work my parents do (saving the lives of animals) is more important than what I do (obviously frying coleslaw). But after trying fried coleslaw, I think that what I do is also very important.
I know what you’re thinking: “That sounds disgusting.” But is it? Is it really true? Does fried cabbage sound disgusting? No. Is it mayonnaise? Possibly, but remember that mayonnaise is basically butter with a bit of vinegar, sugar, and egg, then take it easy. All we’re doing here is roasting cabbage in a dressing, and it works.
It works with potato salad and it works with kale. I tried it with leftover KFC cabbage and it was delicious. I started by placing the lettuce in a sieve, pressing it down to remove all the watery fluff, and then transferring it to the roaster. You want the dish to be large enough for the kale to decompose into a half-inch layer so that the water given off by the kale can evaporate unhindered.
Bake in the oven set at 350℉ until the cabbage has darkened to your liking. I roasted mine for about an hour until it was soft and sweet and the little pieces of carrots and cabbage were caramelized around the edges. It was shockingly comforting – with a lot of deep, toasty flavor – especially considering it was only 60 minutes ago.
I wouldn’t do this with fresh cabbage, but it gets worse when it’s lying down. The water is washed out, stripping the vegetables of their crispiness and diluting the dressing. But after a bit of straining and an hour in the oven, you can turn this watery porridge into a warm, cozy side dish perfect for a cozy dinner.