How to evaluate $\sqrt[3]{a + ib} + \sqrt[3]{a - ib}$? The answer to a question I asked earlier today hinged on the fact that
$$\sqrt[3]{35 + 18i\sqrt{3}} + \sqrt[3]{35 - 18i\sqrt{3}} = 7$$
How does one evaluate such expressions? And, is there a way to evaluate  the general expression
$$\sqrt[3]{a + ib} + \sqrt[3]{a - ib}$$

As I said in a previous answer, finding out that such a simplification occurs is exactly as hard as finding out that $35+18\sqrt{-3}$ has a cube root in $\Bbb Q(\sqrt{-3})$ (well actually, $\Bbb Z[(1+\sqrt{-3})/2]$ because $35+18\sqrt{-3}$ is an algebraic integer).
Suppose $p,q,d$ are integers. Then $p+q\sqrt d$ is an algebraic integer, and so is its cube root, and we can look for cube roots of the form $(x+y\sqrt d)$ with $2x,2y \in \Bbb Z$
So here is what you can do :  


*

*compute analytically the $9$ possible values of $(p+q\sqrt{d})^{1/3}+(p-q\sqrt{d})^{1/3}$, using the polar form to take cube roots, so this involves the use of transcendental functions like $\arctan, \log, \exp$ and $\cos$. Does one of them look like an integer $x$ ? if so, let $y = 3qx/(x^3+p)$ and check algebraically if $(x+y\sqrt d)^3 = 8(p+q\sqrt d)$. 

*try to find a semi-integer root to the degree $9$ polynomial $64x^9-48px^6+(27dq^2-15p^2)x^3-p^3 = 0$. It will necessarily be of the form $\pm z$ or $\pm z/2$ where $z$ is a divisor of $p$, so you will need to decompose $p$ into its prime factors.

*see if the norm of $p+q\sqrt d$ is a cube (in $\Bbb Z$). If it's not, you can stop. If you find that $p^2-dq^2 = r^3$ for some integer $r$, then try to find a semi-integer root to the degree $3$ polynomial $4x^3-3rx-p = 0$. Again you only need to check divisors of $p$ and their halves. The check that the norm was a cube allows you to make a simpler computation.

*study the factorisation of $p+q\sqrt d$ in the ring of integers of $\Bbb Q(\sqrt d)$. This involves again checking that $p^2-dq^2$ is a cube $r^3$ (in $\Bbb Z$), then find the factorisation of the principal ideal $(p+q\sqrt d)$ in prime ideals. To do this you have to find square roots of $d$ modulo some prime factors of $r$ and find the relevant prime ideals. If $(p+q\sqrt d)$ is the cube of an ideal, you will need to check if that ideal is principal, say $(z)$ (so you may want to compute the ideal class group of $\Bbb Q(\sqrt d))$, and then finally compute the group of units to check if $(p+q\sqrt d)/z^3$ is the cube of a unit or not (especially when $d>0$, where that group is infinite and you need to do some continued fraction computation. otherwise it's finite and easy in comparison).
I would say that methods $2$ and $4$ are strictly more complicated than method $3$, that checking if a polynomial has some integer roots is not too much more evil than doing a prime factorisation to check if some integer is a cube or not. And if you can bear with it, go for method $1$, which is the best, and you don't need a high precision. 
This is unavoidable. If you use Cardan's formula for the polynomial of the method $3$ you will end up precisely with the expression you started with, and that polynomial is the one you started with before considering simplifying that expression.
Finally, I think what you want to hear is There is no formula that allows you to solve a cubic real polynomial by only taking roots of real numbers.
