I used to hate coleslaw because I associated it with the kind you get in supermarkets and bad restaurants – a soggy mass of non-descript veg, drenched in mayo.
Now, I make slaw all the time, but I make it proper crunchy and fresh, and use a natural yogurt dressing rather than mayo to keep it light. A touch of mustard and slightly pickled red onions also give it a nice bit of zing.
This is great with fish tacos, barbecued meats, in wraps with grilled meat or halloumi or just as an easy side when you want a bit fresh veggie crunch. It’s also a great, fail-safe dish to bring to a picnic or barbecue.
Easy crunchy slaw
No cook
1tsp Dijon mustard
1. First, finely slice the red onion and put it in a bowl with a pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt, the juice of half a lemon and a tbsp of vinegar (white wine or cider vinegar). Scrunch the onion around in the liquid a bit, then leave to slightly pickle while you prep the rest of the veg (this will mean your slaw wont taste overpoweringly of raw onion).
2. Finely slice the cabbage and put in a large bowl. Coarsely grate the carrots and add to the cabbage. Finely chop your parsley or coriander and add to the cabbage and carrot.
3. In a small bowl, mix the natural yogurt with 1 tsp Dijon mustard and a generous grind of black pepper. Pour this into the cabbage/carrot, along with the red onions and their pickling liquid and stir to combine.
*I like to add coriander to my slaw, particularly when serving as a side to barbecued meats, fish tacos, Mexican feasts etc, but parsley works if you’re serving to coriander haters or want something a little more traditionally flavoured.
This recipe can be easily halved to make a smaller quantity, but you’ll probably still need the full amount of vinegar to pickle the red onion successfully (but perhaps don’t add all of the pickling liquid into the slaw or it could be too acidic – taste it, then make the call).
Anna Lawson eats... 