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\nMake the spiced cashews:<\/b> Heat your oven to 400\u00b0F. Place the cashews in a colander and rinse them with water, but no need to shake them off. (This gets them the perfect amount of wet for the spices to stick.) Transfer to a bowl, add the sugar, salt, cayenne, and paprika and stir so that they\u2019re evenly coated. If the mixture seems a little dry, add 1 more teaspoon of water. Spread the cashews out on a small, parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 8 to 10 minutes, until the nuts are darker and I actually like them with some black spots, so I\u2019ll put them in for up to another 3 to 5 minutes, just watch carefully so that they don\u2019t completely burn. Let the nuts cool completely on the tray. [I stick them outside and let the winter air take care of it.]<\/p>\n
Assemble the salad:<\/b> Combine cabbage, fennel, scallions, and mint in a large bowl. Juice one of your mandarins and pour 2 tablespoons of the juice into a small bowl. (Any extra should be thrown back like an immunity booster shot.) Add white wine vinegar, olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, many grinds of black pepper, and sumac and whisk to combine. Pour over cabbage mixture and taste, adding more seasoning as needed. If you\u2019re making the salad ahead of time, you can keep this mixture marinating for a couple hours; it won\u2019t go to mush.<\/p>\n
Peel your remaining two mandarins and separate them into segments. Pile half of your dressed salad mixture on a serving plate, sprinkle with half the mandarin and half of the cashews. It will seem like a lot of cashews but they\u2019re really the star of the show here. Repeat with remaining salad, mandarin, and cashews and dig in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n