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.

The days are getting shorter, the light is paler and there’s a definite chill in the air. Winter is coming and that means perfect weather for soup.

Proper, hearty (and healthy) soup made from fresh vegetables and simmered gently on the stove top, filling the house with a gorgeous aroma that makes you salivate the minute you walk through the door. Mmmmm, so good you can hardly wait to eat it with a few slices of crusty bread.

We make a lot of soup in winter but the all-time favourite would have to be minestrone. It’s a delicious way to dish up a big serve of vegetables. The leftovers are even better the next day and it also keeps well in the freezer.

We can’t take full credit for it. It’s based on a Jamie Oliver recipe but, over time, we’ve adjusted the quantities to suit our taste.

1 tbs olive oil
6 slices rindless shortcut bacon, chopped
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 bulb fennel, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ a bunch basil, leaves and green stalks chopped
800g canned Roma tomatoes
175ml red wine
2 zucchinis, chopped
3 to 4 leaves silverbeet, roughly chopped stalks and all
400g canned cannellini beans, drained and rinsed thoroughly
500ml chicken stock
2 handfuls of short pasta
Parmesan cheese to serve

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped bacon. Fry gently for a minute then add onion, carrots, celery, fennel, garlic and basil. On a very low heat and with the lid slightly ajar, allow the bacon and vegetables to sweat for around 20 minutes until soft. The heat should be low enough that nothing browns.

Add the zucchini, tomatoes and wine, and simmer gently until it thickens slightly. Add the silverbeet, chicken stock, cannellini beans and pasta. Simmer until the pasta is cooked.

When ready, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top.