I have always wanted to love coleslaw, it can at its best be fresh and crunchy, a make-ahead salad that is the perfect balance to roasted and grilled proteins. And yet many are just swimming in mayonnaise and cloyingly sweet. The solution? Work out what I loved best in coleslaw, what I didn’t like, and come up with a recipe that answered all my coleslaw needs.
A quick rundown of the new coleslaw starts with:
- A different cut, for cabbage and carrots
- Added vegetables in the form of radish and celery
- Make celery shine, by peeling off the fibrous strings on the outside of the vegetable with a vegetable peeler, all of that fresh celery flavour without any of the stringy bits.
- Get the taste of onions but not the bite from green onions (scallions)
- Add a herby note with dill
- Make homemade mayonnaise to cut out the sugar from the dressing and amp up the flavour.
- And finally, for a hit of freshness and acidity replace the classic vinegar with lemon juice
For Salad:
- 1 small head of cabbage, cut into small dice
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
- 8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced, white and green parts
- 10 radishes, cut into small dice
- 2 sticks celery, peeled (see note above) cut into small dice
- 4 tablespoons, finely minced dill
Dressing:
- 170g (¾ cup) mayonnaise (see recipe below)
- 60g (¼ cup) + extra to taste) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds (optional – though delicious)
- Salt and pepper to taste
For Homemade mayonnaise:
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon flakey sea salt
- 170g (¾ cup) vegetable oil
- 60g (¼ cup) olive oil
- Flakey sea salt to taste
For Salad and dressing:
- In a large mixing bowl combine the cabbage, carrots, green onions (scallions), radishes, celery, and dill, mix well.
- For the dressing in a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, and celery seeds, use a bit of cabbage to taste the dressing, and then start balancing the flavour with salt, pepper, and additional lemon juice to taste.
- Dress the salad by adding half the dressing to the vegetable mixture, mix well (hands work great here) , keep adding a bit of dressing at a time, until the vegetables are well coated with dressing, but not swimming in it.
- Salad will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to three days.
For Mayonnaise:
- Use a damp towel to act as an anchor for a medium mixing bowl, to do this run a towel under the tap ring out and then place it like a turban on your counter, plop the mixing bowl snuggly in the center.
- In the mixing place the egg yolks, dijon mustard, minced garlic, lemon rind, lemon juice, and salt, whisk until well mixed.
- Place both oils in a jug with a spout. While whisking the mixture in the bowl with your dominant hand, slowly stream oil into the mixture, not adding more oil until the first amount has been emulsified, keep pouring and whisking until all the oil has been used up and you have a thick mayonnaise mixture.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper. The mayonnaise will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
