Sunday, February 10, 2008

coleslaw


Coleslaw, according to wikipedia, is a salad consisting primarily, and minimally, of shredded, raw cabbage, although it often also includes shredded carrots. There are many variations of the recipe which include the addition of other ingredients, such as red cabbage, pineapple, or apple. It is usually mixed with a dressing which traditionally consists of, or is based on, vegetable oil and vinegar or a vinaigrette. In the U.S. coleslaw often contains mayonnaise (or its substitutes); although many regional variations exist, and recipes incorporating prepared mustard are also common. A variety of seasonings may be added. The dressing is usually allowed to settle on the blended ingredients for several hours before being served. The cabbage may come in finely minced pieces, shredded strips, or small squares. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleslaw).

Coleslaw is also another reward for picking up that head of cabbage, an inexpensive and versatile vegetable.

Hats off for this recipe to Rebecca at vegan food:


Dressing:
1/3 c. oil
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
3 T sugar (or brown rice syrup or apple juice concentrate)
2 t salt
2 t mustard seeds
1/2 t celery seed

Salad:
small cabbage, shredded
onion, thinly sliced
red bell pepper, thinly sliced
carrot, coarsely grated

Boil dressing ingredients for about a minute. Pour over salad ingredients. Mix. Let sit for a couple of hours. (I put it in the fridge.)

When I made this recipe I used the Mark Bittman method for the salad ingredients: I put the ingredients in a colandar, ground coarse salt over them, mixed it up. I let that sit for a couple of hours to drain the excess water from them. Because I had used salt in this step I didn't add any to the dressing.

2 comments:

Elaine Vigneault said...

That looks good. I wonder if you can make that dressing raw.

Judith Lautner said...

I looked at it and it seems to me it would work fine raw, especially if you let the cabbage drain with salt first. I think one of the effects of the hot dressing is to soften the salad, meld it together more. So the main thing would be to use a type syrup or sugar that does not involve heat processing and be sure it dissolves into the mix. And, of course, use cold-pressed oil and perhaps lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar - I am not sure how vinegar is processed.