Cabbage and Pickled Cucumber Salad

CABBAGE is associated with winter in Greece. “You can’t have tender, sweet cabbage before the winter cold,” a farmer in Kea told me one October morning. The trick to turn almost any cabbage into a good salad is to “knead” the finely shredded leaves with salt and lemon juice. They wilt and shrink, becoming juicy and delicious.

Cilantro is a Cypriot touch in this lovely winter salad. Pungent arugula and sour pickles balance the sweetness of the cabbage and carrots.