This gorgeous dish from our March issue--Red Cabbage Salad with Warm Pancetta-Balsamic Dressing--calls for thinly sliced cabbage. Here are three tools for getting the cabbage as thin as you want it, safely.
Remember this: Whichever you use, always start by halving the cabbage so there's a flat, stable edge to work from.
Cheffiest: Handheld slicer
This small paddle with a V-shaped blade ($15; oxo.com) cuts like its bigger cousin, the mandoline, but it's smaller, easier to use, and cheaper. Arch fingers upward so they're clear of the blade.
Quickest: Food processor
Slicer disk (from $25 to $30 for replacements). Cut cabbage into 2-inch chunks; ease them through the feed tube with the pusher.
Simplest: Chef's knife
An 8-inch chef's knife (from $25; cooking.com). Make sure the knife feels good in your hand. Quarter cabbage halves; slice very thinly. Keep your left-hand fingers in the "claw" position for safety.
Photos by CN Digital Studio