If you Google "coleslaw" you'll get 17 million recipes. "Creamy coleslaw" refines the search results to only 1.25 million.
So why should I share a coleslaw recipe?
Because one goal of this blog is to record family favourites, and this is the coleslaw I used to make - though admittedly not recently. I stumbled upon it in one of my ratty old notebooks, and it is likely close to 40 years old. I have no idea where it came from.
I do enjoy some vinegar-y slaws. (And people often prefer these on picnics when chilled storage may not be optimal.) The one served with schnitzel at the (now closed) Coffee Mill in TO was a favourite. I once found something similar, sold I think under the "Moishe" label.
Just at the moment I have to avoid acidic foods and that puts vinegar-y slaws and a lot of salad vinaigrettes on the taboo list. Creamy coleslaw sounds perfect - and it's crunchy - and I like crunch! I'm putting this recipe back into regular rotation!
The quantity is good for a family picnic, but you may want to cut the veggie component in half if you're "empty nest". Make all the dressing and decide how much of it you want to use.
4 cups thinly sliced cabbage
4 grated carrots
2 diced or sliced celery stalks
1 thinly sliced onion (yellow or red)
In the photo, you can perhaps see I sliced the cabbage by hand resulting in a bit of a thicker, rustic look. Perhaps better to use the slicing blade in your food processor or a mandoline to get a thinner slice, texture. Once you have the food processor mucked up, you may as well use it to slice the onions and grate the carrots. Dice or thinly slice the celery.
2 TB sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 TB cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
(optional: 1/4 cup mayonnaise]
Use a hand whisk to combine all the dressing ingredients - whisking until the dressing begins to thicken a bit. Toss with the veggie mixture. Tastes great served right away, even better after a half hour.
[My recipe notes had the cream listed as "rich cream" and I used to use "half and half", but was always disappointed that much of the dressing found it's way to the bottom of the bowl. By using whipping cream, and hand whisking to a thick consistency, this problem is partly solved. If you want add a bit more "substance" to the dressing, add the mayonnaise.]
Notes and Tips...
- Onions - use yellow or red onions
- Onion Tip: you can "soften" the sulphur taste of onions by soaking them in water for about 10 minutes. Read more.
- Cider Vinegar - if you can, take a pass on ordinary cider vinegar; there are some artisanal brands and many people love the healthy Bragg's Cider Vinegar.
- Variations - if you think about it, you can get really creative - add shredded celeriac, daikon, kohlrabi, radishes, red cabbage - anything crunchy and healthy!
- For KB Recipe Attribution Practices please click here.