Chorizo and Red Cabbage Salad

This lovely book, called Charcuterie, was gifted to me by my mother. She knows what I love, and I love all forms of charcuterie. The book was published in 2014, and written by Miranda Ballard. There is a section on how to cure your own meats, but mostly it’s recipes using charcuterie, like sausage, pork belly, salami, and so forth.

I have since realized that much of the home-made charcuterie I’d love to make by hand, I cannot, due to the fact that I live in a very humid region. So no hanging whole jamons in my basement. (insert sad face.)

However, there are so many fun recipes in this book, like, coppa and spring onion frittata, and dried cranberry and brandy Christmas pâté. But I zeroed in on a chorizo and red cabbage salad.

From the book, “This salad is stunning due to its vibrant red color. It’s a lovely way to make cabbage exciting, as just a small amount of chorizo lends superb depth of flavor.”

Where I live, I can only find Mexican chorizo, which is soft and greasy. It’s important to find real Spanish chorizo for this salad. There are two basic kinds of Spanish chorizo, and I’m generalizing here.

There are sausages in links that need to be cooked; they look similar to Italian sausages, below left. And there is chorizo that is more similar to salami or pepperoni, that you’d see on a charcuterie platter. They come in a variety of shapes and made of different meats, depending on the origin in Spain, lower right.

This recipe utilizes the latter variety of chorizo, which is another reason I was so intrigued by this recipe.

Chorizo and Red Cabbage Salad
Serves 2 for a light lunch

Salad:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red cabbage, cored, sliced or shredded
5 ounces chorizo, peeled, diced

Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic purée or crushed garlic
Big pinch freshly chopped parsley
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice

For the salad, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat, then add the red cabbage and fry until soft, stirring regularly.

Add the chorizo and keep stirring for 2-3 minutes, so that the chorizo starts to cook and release its oils.

Remove from the heat and let cool.

Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix together well. Once the cabbage and chorizo mixture has cooled, pour over the dressing.

Toss to mix well.

Serve. I personally liked serving the salad still warm.

I loved the dressing, but I’d change the ratio to a 50-50 mixture of olive oil and red wine vinegar. The chorizo does let off a lot of greasiness, so I prefer a bit more vinegar.

I’d definitely not serve this salad cold.

I can also see a dollop of crème fraiche served on this salad! Plus, I could also throw in a few golden raisins for a touch more sweetness, but that’s just me!

By Published On: February 21st, 202042 Comments on Chorizo and Red Cabbage Salad

About the Author: Chef Mimi

As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!

42 Comments

  1. Abbe@This is How I Cook February 21, 2020 at 9:04 AM - Reply

    Love this salad. Cabbage and chorizo are two of my favoirtes. I buy Palaccio dried sausage. Love the idea of raisins. This is a keeper!

    • chef mimi February 21, 2020 at 4:23 PM - Reply

      It’s really good. I’ve made braised cabbage for Thanksgiving, but never have had cabbage as a salad with a vinaigrette. It was fabulous!

  2. Linger February 21, 2020 at 10:04 AM - Reply

    Mimi, you have the BEST cookbooks ever. I’m so jealous. And this recipe sounds scrumptious. Love the red cabbage and chorizo together. Thanks so much sharing such great recipes all the time.

    • chef mimi February 21, 2020 at 4:23 PM - Reply

      I know I do!!! I’m so lucky. And so many I’ve been gifted, cause people know what I love. Cheese, wine, and cookbooks!

  3. Gerlinde February 21, 2020 at 11:48 AM - Reply

    I love red cabbage but have never made it with sausages. I will have to try this. You find the best recipes .

    • chef mimi February 21, 2020 at 4:22 PM - Reply

      Thank you! I love cabbage in slaw, but that’s more ideal to me in hot weather. When it’s cold, I’ll consider a warm cabbage salad. It was fabulous, even without the chorizo!

  4. Ronit Penso Tasty Eats February 21, 2020 at 2:01 PM - Reply

    Very interesting combination! Cooked red cabbage for me is very Eastern European dish, so I wouldn’t have paired it with Chorizo, but It seems to work really well here.

    • chef mimi February 21, 2020 at 4:21 PM - Reply

      Consider it Spanish Hungarian fusion! It really was fabulous. But any kind of sausage would work well – Italian, Merguez, Bratwurst…

  5. Mary February 21, 2020 at 4:39 PM - Reply

    I would love this but finding Spanish Chorizo here is a bit of a difficulty. I do think that even though I might not be able to get the proper chorizo it will still be lovely. I do agree about the raisins – I think they would be nice plus the Creme fraiche. Very yum! :))

    • chef mimi February 21, 2020 at 6:04 PM - Reply

      I think your basic bratwurst or Italian sausage would be great. And, not as greasy!

  6. Gemma February 21, 2020 at 7:19 PM - Reply

    I’d never think to combine chorizo and cabbage but I can only imagine how well they work together! Thank you for sharing xo

    • chef mimi February 21, 2020 at 7:20 PM - Reply

      Yeah! But other sausages would be good as well…

  7. Tandy | Lavender and Lime February 21, 2020 at 11:08 PM - Reply

    I love making my own charcuterie. I’ve made chorizo and bacon so hopefully you will try something and share with us.

    • chef mimi February 22, 2020 at 6:53 AM - Reply

      I think I would need a special refrigerator, or something where I can control the humidity. It’s pretty seriously humid where I live. But at least these days with Amazon and other websites I can order good charcuterie.

  8. Jeff the Chef February 22, 2020 at 10:27 AM - Reply

    First of all, I adore cabbage, so this is for me. Secondly, though, I know what you mean about chorizo. When I come across it in the market, it is usually the Mexican type you’re describing. I knew there was another type, but I didn’t know it was Spanish. You absolutely cannot swap out one for the other in many cases.

    • chef mimi February 22, 2020 at 10:37 AM - Reply

      You, you definitely can’t swap them out. One you can slice, the other you can’t. What I didn’t know is how many regional varieties of Spanish chorizo there are. I shouldn’t be surprised…

  9. David Scott Allen February 22, 2020 at 12:26 PM - Reply

    I have thought about buying a small wine refrigerator just for the purpose of hanging charcuterie inside to cure. Is that insane or what? Your area is too humid… My area is too dry. What are we going to do?

    • chef mimi February 22, 2020 at 2:04 PM - Reply

      Oh, it can be too dry? I had no idea. Well, I don’t think it’s insane. The pursuit of creating great food is totally sane!

  10. David @ Spiced February 22, 2020 at 12:32 PM - Reply

    Chorizo is such a wonderful ingredient! It adds so much flavor to a recipe…and you really don’t need all that much. I love the cabbage + dressing here. Such a simple, yet delicious sounding recipe, Mimi!

    • chef mimi February 22, 2020 at 2:04 PM - Reply

      I will continue to make warm cabbage salads, without or without chorizo, from now on. This was my take-away from making this dish. And to make sure the dressing is warm as well. Now that makes me want to add bacon and warm drippings….

  11. Vicki Bensinger February 22, 2020 at 3:03 PM - Reply

    Hi Mimi,
    This looks so pretty and sounds delicious! The plate looks like jewels.

    In case you didn’t see the response to the post you left on my site, email:
    info@FabSlabsUSA.com and tell Seth I gave you his email address. He’s a super nice guy. I’m surprised the link didn’t take you there. I’ll be sure to post that at the bottom of my article. Thank you.

    • chef mimi February 22, 2020 at 3:04 PM - Reply

      Oh great! Thanks! I’ve since found them on Amazon. Of course.

  12. kathryninthekitchen February 23, 2020 at 1:27 AM - Reply

    Lovely Mimi – two of my favourite flavours….

    • chef mimi February 23, 2020 at 6:30 AM - Reply

      It was a delightful salad!

  13. cookingwithauntjuju.com February 23, 2020 at 8:08 AM - Reply

    I often add bacon to my red cabbage so I’m sure chorizo (which I love) would add a nice “kick” to the recipe. Sounds really good!

    • chef mimi February 23, 2020 at 8:40 AM - Reply

      It is really good. and if you don’t have chorizo, I’m thinking that the cabbage salad with a hot bacon dressing would be really good….

  14. neil@neilshealthymeals.com February 23, 2020 at 10:13 AM - Reply

    Chorizo is one of my most favourite ingredients for cooking. I love how the oil is released and it’s just so flavourful. I’d love to make this to go with a BBQ!

    • chef mimi February 23, 2020 at 3:09 PM - Reply

      The greasy aspect is the exact reason I thought the vinaigrette should be more vinegary and less olive oily. I’m not afraid of fat, but the salad needed more acid.

  15. Frank Fariello February 23, 2020 at 2:39 PM - Reply

    This looks absolutely beautiful, Mimi. And I know the chorizo gives a marvelous flavor to just about anything. I will definitely be clipping this one for a try real soon.

    • chef mimi February 23, 2020 at 3:04 PM - Reply

      It really was fabulous. I think it would be great also with Italian sausage!

  16. cookingontheweekends February 24, 2020 at 12:01 PM - Reply

    One of my favorite things about Spain in chorizo. Ha! Actually, I’m not even sure I’m joking. :-) It’s SO good, and I especially like the type you’re using in this salad. What a pretty dish this is — wondering if it might also be good warm/hot? :-) ~Valentina

    • chef mimi February 25, 2020 at 6:51 AM - Reply

      It was warm. Hot might be a bit too much, but I wouldn’t even serve this room temperature .It would be too greasy cold. I know what you mean. Chorizo is fabulous! And, Manchego!

  17. sippitysup February 24, 2020 at 6:39 PM - Reply

    Cabbage actually changes in character when it comes in contact with pork. In a good way! GREG

    • chef mimi February 25, 2020 at 6:52 AM - Reply

      It was a perfect combination. And served warm – it was a really lovely salad.

  18. Shannon February 25, 2020 at 4:19 PM - Reply

    Absolutely fascinating! I love learning about the histories behind foods and the different varieties and origin countries. I remember having chorizo in Spain years ago before I was vegetarian, and I still remember how blown away I was! Like you say, very different from Mexican chorizo. I can definitely see how Spanish chorizo would pair beautifully with purple cabbage, and how complimentary the flavors would be!

    • chef mimi February 25, 2020 at 7:37 PM - Reply

      Complimentary for sure! Like popcorn with salt! The salad was especially good warm, so from now on if I’m in the mood for cabbage, I just might turn it into a salad similar to this, served warm. Mmmmmm

  19. Ron February 26, 2020 at 6:21 AM - Reply

    Red (and green) cabbage dishes are quite popular over this way, so your Chorizo and Red Cabbage Salad sounds perfect. Spanish chorizo is no problem for us, so I’m looking forward to this one and yes, warm, please.

    • chef mimi February 27, 2020 at 7:28 AM - Reply

      Oh, good. I wish Spanish chorizo was more readily available where I live, but like I said, thank goodness for my local deli Amazon.com!

  20. Sumith February 26, 2020 at 6:41 AM - Reply

    Wow love any thing with Chorizo. This salad looks amazing!

    • chef mimi February 27, 2020 at 7:28 AM - Reply

      It really is a wonderful, deep-flavored sausage. Thank you!

  21. kitchenriffs February 26, 2020 at 8:50 AM - Reply

    Cabbage and sausage — any sausage — is such a great combo of flavors. They basically great a whole new flavor. This looks wonderful. And luckily I can find Spanish-style chorizo pretty easily. Good recipe — thanks.

    • chef mimi February 27, 2020 at 7:29 AM - Reply

      Oh, you’re lucky. But thanks to online websites I can get just about anything in the charcuterie department, and they sometimes have sales on shipping, which helps!

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