World famous in Sweden
This recipe is not for pizza, it’s for salad, but in order for you to understand just how much this salad means to the Swedish food culture you need to know a little bit about the background.
In 2015 there were 3500 pizzerias in Sweden. How common the pizzeria is in the Swedish cultural landscape is proved by the sheer amount of restaurants. We live in a pretty sparsely populated area. The municipality of Kramfors has around 18.000 inhabitants on an area of 1 694,63 km2, which basically means that on each km2 10 people live. Not a lot… Serving these 18.000 people are around 25 eateries and at least 11 of those are independantly owned pizzerias. We have no McDonald’s, no Burger King and no Domino’s – just loads of family run places.
If I took a bowl of this salad with me next time I go to town proper and asked people what it is and what country it comes from I guarantee you that 100% will know that it is pizza salad, and at least 75% will say it comes from Italy, but the truth is that it was invented and first served in Sweden though the recipe is based on a Croatian salad called “kupus salata”.
It’s simple to make, lasts a fair while in the fridge and tasty.
Pizza salad
Ingredients
- 500 g cabbage shredded
- 2 l water boiling
- 50 ml rapeseed oil
- 50 ml applecider vinegar
- 1 red pepper pickled and sliced. Optional
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Whilst waiting for the water to boil, shred your cabbage using mandolin or simply a sharp knife. Some people use a cheese slicer to do this, and that works great.
- Take the water off the heat and immerse your cabbage in it for 30 sec to a minute. Whilst the cabbage is being scalded, mix the oil and vinegar in a cup and season it well with the spices.
- Drain the cabbage and put in a large bowl. This is where you will also add the sliced pickled red pepper if you choose.
- Pour the dressing over the cabbage, mix well, and store in an airtight container at least an hour before serving.