Green goddess salad

• A sharp 8-inch chef knife (or a mandoline for the cabbage) · The tool that makes the chop
• Aromatics, salt, fat (full ingredient list ships with photography)

Method

1. 1

   The base is finely chopped cabbage, cucumber and chives

   Half a head of green cabbage, one English cucumber, a small bunch of chives. That is the chopped base. The cabbage is the body and the crunch, the cucumber brings water and freshness, the chives carry a mild onion note. Everything else is dressing. No lettuce, which is the trick to a salad that keeps.

2. 2

   Chop to a uniform quarter-inch dice, this is the whole recipe

   Quarter-inch dice on everything, as even as you can manage. This is the difference between a salad you eat with a fork and one you scoop with a chip. Stack and shred the cabbage thin, then cross-cut it small. Quarter the cucumber lengthwise and slice. Snip the chives fine. Uneven chunks will not hold dressing or sit on a chip.

3. 3

   The dressing goes in a blender, not a bowl

   Greek yoghurt or mayonnaise, a big handful each of basil and parsley, the chives, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt. Blend until smooth and pale green. A bowl with minced herbs leaves fibrous strings and uneven garlic. The blender pulls the herbs into a pourable sauce that coats every piece of dice evenly.

4. 4

   Soften the garlic in lemon juice before it goes in

   Raw garlic blended into a cold dressing turns sharp and only gets louder over the next hour. Grate the clove, stir it into the lemon juice, and let it sit for 5 minutes while you chop. The acid takes the edge off so the garlic reads as savoury rather than hot, even on day 2.

5. 5

   Dress, salt, then rest for 15 minutes

   Toss the dice with the dressing and a good pinch of salt, then walk away for 15 minutes. The salt draws a little water from the cabbage and softens that raw squeak into tender-crisp, while the dressing settles down into the dice instead of sitting on top. Served straight away it tastes raw and unmarried. The rest is not optional.

6. 6

   Serve it scoopable, with a chip or in a wrap

   The point of the fine chop is that it scoops. Pile it in a bowl and eat it with tortilla chips or crackers, or spoon it into a wrap or onto toast. It also works as a side under grilled chicken or fish. A handful of toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas on top adds crunch if you want it.

7. 7

   Make it vegan: yoghurt to mayo, or use a cashew base

   Vegan mayonnaise swaps in one-for-one for the yoghurt and keeps the tang. For a whole-food version, blend a quarter cup of cashews soaked in hot water for 10 minutes with the herbs, lemon and a splash of water until creamy. Both hold the same pale-green colour and coat the dice the same way.

8. 8

   Storage: it keeps 3 days, best if you store it dry

   Undressed, the chopped base keeps 3 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Dressed, it is best within 24 hours and still good at 48, the cabbage stays crisp because there is no lettuce to wilt, though it sheds a little water you can pour off. For meal prep, store the dice and dressing separately and combine the morning you eat it.