Coleslaw

A good coleslaw seems like such a basic, simple recipe. And it is. It’s  a great salad to serve with just about anything, especially seafood. Since I shared the recipe for my Cheesy Baked Salmon last time, I decided to go ahead and disclose my recipe for Coleslaw as well. Not that there are any astounding secret ingredients or techniques of making it. If you haven’t tried the salmon yet, you now have the perfect salad to accompany it.

I really, really like this variation of Coleslaw.  The dressing is a great balance of sweet, salty and tart flavors. I also like adding some celery seeds and fresh herbs to it as well. The ingredients are really basic. You can find them any time of year and most likely have them in your house most of the time. It’s also very, very CHEAP. It really tastes great. The cabbage is nice and crunchy and I make sure not to drench it in dressing, just because I don’t like it that way.

This salad is a favorite of my brother, Mark. Years ago when he was visiting me in Florida and tried it for the first time, he liked it so much, that when he went back home to NY, he learned how to make it himself. Fun Fact! This was one of the recipes that I had included in a small homemade cookbook that I made for my sisters for Christmas one year. That’s the recipe Mark used, and my sister Karina texted me to tell me all about it. (Our brothers didn’t really cook too much. Too many available sisters. Two older and two younger. Ha ha.) That was a walk down memory lane. Mark is now married and lives in Florida with his lovely wife, Marina. I wonder if he still likes this coleslaw?

Ingredients:

1 head of cabbage, shredded

1 carrot, shredded

2 – 4 Tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

1 – 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

dill, optional

Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 – 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar (or honey)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon celery seeds

salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Shred the cabbage thinly, using a box grater, a mandoline, your knife, food processor, etc. Shred the carrot on a box grater. Add the scallions and the parsley. You can also add some dill, if you’d like.Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a separate bowl. I use my liquid measuring cup.

I just realized that I forgot to show the lemon in the picture. Oh, well, don’t forget to add it.

Whisk to combine. Adjust the flavor to your taste.

For example, many people like their coleslaw on the sweeter side,  but you may not like your salads to be sweet. You can also use honey instead of sugar. Use as much sugar and acidity as you like. You can also use all kinds of vinegars, it doesn’t have to be cider vinegar. You can just as easily use plain white vinegar.

Add part of the dressing to the salad and mix. Keep adding more dressing until the salad is the consistency that you like.You may not need to use all the dressing. It depends on how big your cabbage is and also how creamy you like your salad. I rarely ever use it all.

The awesome thing about this recipe is that you can make the dressing, keep it in the refrigerator and make more coleslaw a few days later. Or share half of the dressing with your sister. It’s really convenient. (Or simply halve the recipe.)

Keep the salad refrigerated. You can make this salad well in advance and just store it chilled.