Crispy, zingy and loaded with healthy fresh vegetables—coleslaw is a great salad for summer. I’ve been thinking about making coleslaw for many months, since we were at Taste of Sydney and ate coleslaw and crispy skinned chicken (it was like grown-up, much healthier version of KFC). So that’s what I decided to make myself for lunch one day last week, although I made parmesan crumbed chicken to have with my coleslaw.
The most basic coleslaw is a mixture of red and green cabbage with carrot in a mayonnaise or vinaigrette dressing. From that base, you can add ingredients like apple, fennel, radish, celery, shallots, even nuts—anything with a bit of crunch that’s not too overpowering in flavour.
I’ve found a blend that I’m very happy with:
1 cup red cabbage
1 cup green cabbage
1 small bulb of fennel
1 carrot, peeled
6 radishes, topped and tailed
Dressing
⅓ cup mayonnaise (you could make you own but I use Best Foods or Thomy)
1 tbs white wine vinegar
½ tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
Finely shred the cabbage, and grate the fennel, carrot and radishes. You can do this by hand for a more rustic coleslaw, or use the food processor for really fine vegetable pieces.
In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar by whisking. Season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste, then toss through the vegetables.
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to allow the dressing to flavour the vegetables.