The Coleslaw Experiment

Trust me, once you get into the habit of making your own slaw, the sloppy muck they sell in your local supermarket just wont cut it. There are a million coleslaw recipes on the internet, so the trick is to mix and match until you get the combo that works for you, and you can call your own. The absolute basic recipe is a winner and consists of 3 types of veg and a mayo mix. To make it work you’ll need a mandolin or a lot of patience and a very sharp knife…

Step 1 – The Veg

So the idea is as simple as cutting it all up, mixing it around in a bowl, and adding your dressing. The slice is critical though, has to be a fine slice as per the image. Invest in a mandolin, some will also allow you to julienne the carrot, but grating it will suffice.

Once you have cut the veg, mix it in a large bowl with plenty of salt and pepper, a pinch of caster sugar and a good splash of red wine vinegar.

Tried, tested, approved variations:

• Sliced pepper
• Julienned apple
• Chilli – smokey dried chipotles are good, fresh red chillis too, but then I love chillis
• Green cabbage is an interesting alternative to white
• Pumpkin seed – in fact, seeds of any type

Fails:

• White onion – way too powerful
• Red cabbage – bit too hard
• Fennel bulb – it was ok, but disappointing really
• Spring onion – lacked punch

Step 2 – The Dressing

I’m not overly keen on the gloopy almost liquid texture of prepackaged slaw, I find a generous but light coating works best, that’s what we’re going for. The beauty of making your own is you can add the lube a bit at a time until you get the consistency you want. My only recommendation is a mix 50/50 of mayo, with either sour cream, butter milk or yoghurt – avoid creme fraiche, its not right for some reason.

Make sure you add the dressing just before serving, and drain any excess liquid from the veg before you mix it in.

Tried, tested, approved variations:

• A teaspoon of dijon mustard
• A splash of tabasco
• A big blob of double cream
• A pinch of smoked paprika
• The juice of a lime

Step 3 – Optional Additions

At this stage you have awesome coleslaw – congrats! You might want to experiment with extra ingredients though, here’s my research:

Tried, tested, approved variations:

• Smoked cheese – fantastic, don’t overdo it though!
• Coriander
• Cashews
• Crispy bacon
• Seeds