Coleslaw

Preparing the vegetables

1. Whatever the role of coleslaw – a salad, a snack, a fast food topping or a side dish – the main ingredient is always white cabbage. Sometimes it’s the only ingredient apart from the dressing. Adding sweet carrot makes the dish much tastier and prettier.

   

2. Shred the cabbage: remove the outer leaves – they’re usually limp and often damaged. For a few servings, half or a quarter of a large head is enough. How you cut the cabbage is pretty much up to you. Most often it’s shredded or sliced into thin strips with a knife. A mandoline shredder does the job perfectly and quickly.

   

3. Grate the carrot on the coarse side of a grater or use a julienne slicer. It’s best to use sweet carrots. Large carrots often have coarse flesh with a distinct grassy taste – better not to use those. In spring and summer, young carrots are the ideal choice.

4. Put the cabbage and carrot in a bowl, add a little salt and 0.5 tsp sugar (2 g). I recommend adding a pinch of sweet paprika. Mix gently so the cabbage doesn’t release its juice – it’s better to just toss the salad.

   

Coleslaw dressing

1. There are plenty of dressing variations around the world, but mayonnaise is still the most popular. Yogurt dressings are popular too, though. For fast food, the salad is usually used as is, with the dressing added right before serving – the same ketchup and mayo that hot dogs get generously drizzled with. We make a simple dressing from easy-to-find ingredients.

2. Mix the dressing: in a separate bowl, combine homemade or store-bought mayonnaise, thick yogurt or sour cream and Dijon mustard, season with ground black pepper and add a few drops of white wine vinegar. Mix thoroughly, and the dressing is ready.

   

4. Chill: all the ingredients should be cold, so keep the vegetables and dressing in the fridge.

5. Combine the vegetables with the dressing just before serving. It’s handy to mix with two long-handled spoons – that way the vegetables release less juice. In a properly made salad you won’t notice any liquid at all. The dressing is thick enough that the salad doesn’t turn watery.

   

Serving

1. Serve the salad as a side dish, on its own or as a hot dog topping.

   For extra ingredients, depending on your taste or preferences, you can use red cabbage, bell pepper, onion (preferably red), grated cheese, fruit such as apple, pineapple, pear and so on, or herbs such as cilantro, parsley and chives. You can also dress the salad with just mayonnaise or just yogurt, heavy cream, soured milk or buttermilk.