I think I’ve said this before but I super love taco nights and I also really love cabbage on my tacos. Usually I just layer my taco with meat, salsa, onion and cilantro, and/or cabbage or lettuce but I wanted to do something different. So I decided to make this coleslaw type of thing.
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded
2 tomatillos (green tomatoes)
1 medium jalepeno
1 lime, juiced
1 cup Mexican crema (if you can’t find crema, a light sour cream would be the next best thing)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Start by completely blackening your tomatillos and jalepeno. I did this on the stove. Once cooled remove all of the blackened skin and the seeds from the jalepeno. Place the tomatillos, jalepeno (if you do not want a medium to spicy heat then only add 1/4 to 1/2 of your jalepeno), lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. At this point, do not open your blender and immediately stick your face in front of it and take a deep breath like I did (especially if your mixture is still hot like mine was). For some reason, I was very anxious to smell it and I ended up coughing for a good minute. Spoiler alert, the mixture smells like citrusy lime jalepeno… big surprise. Finally, combine your blended mixture, cabbage, crema, cilantro and stir well.
This coleslaw was great on tacos. It tasted exactly as I titled it… fresh and spicy. The crema did a great job of cooling the heat down and adding a satisfying richness. I added the black pepper in this mixture mostly because seeing it while I ate reminded my brain of traditional coleslaw and every time I took a bite I felt like I was having a more complex eating experience because of it.