Homemade ‘Slaw

Homemade 'Slaw - Delicious with BBQ!

A well made, creamy coleslaw goes well with a lot of hot dishes, BBQ in particular. I like to use mine with my Honey Jack BBQ Pulled Pork in a nice cheese topped roll and some BBQ sauce or my Lime and Coriander Peri Peri Chicken… gorgeous!

Most people will tell you that the basic coleslaw recipe contains carrots, cabbage and onions, but as I cannot stand raw onion, I prefer to use celery instead, I also make use of red and white cabbage to give a bit of colour and if I can get my hands on them, different coloured carrots are great too!  Finally I add an apple to give a tangy sweetness which goes so well with the other vegetables in the ‘slaw.  Many people will also use some for of vinegar to give a bit of acidity, but I promise you that some lemon juice, freshly squeezed if possible, or some lime juice if you prefer, is so much nicer.

As far as mayonnaise goes, don’t scrimp on it, cheap mayo is nowhere near as nice as good quality mayo, so get a smaller jar if you have to, just don’t buy cheap.

I use a julienne peeler to slice my carrots and apple, but if you don’t have one you can easily use a cheese grater, though julienne looks so much nicer. My peeler was only £1.65 on eBay and I’ve had it an age, so it’s worth spending those few pennies for that special touch.  A lot of food processors have the attachment nowadays too, if you have one, check to see if you have it before starting, it saves so much time!

Try and make your ‘slaw the morning that you need it so that it can relax in the fridge for at least 2 hours, this lets the sauce soak into the veggies and makes it all that much creamier when you go to eat it, if I want it for an evening meal or late afternoon BBQ, I always make it that morning.

This is a basic recipe, but, don’t feel tied down by it, you can add onions if you like, a bit of cayenne pepper or Tabasco to the sauce for a bit of a kick, grapes or strawberries for a bit of a summer flair, some radish or beetroot for some added colour or fennel root… the list is endless…

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large carrots, peeled
• 1/4 head red cabbage
• 1/4 head white cabbage
• 1 apple
• 2 celery sticks
• 3 tablespoons good mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar (caster sugar is best)
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• A good pinch of salt and pepper

METHOD

1. On a large chopping board and using your julienne peeler or cheese grater, grate strips from your carrots and your apple and place in a large mixing bowl (it gets messy so the bigger the better at this point).
2. Shred your cabbages using a large sharp knife – watch those fingers! Add this to the other vegetables in the bowl.
3. Thinly slice up the celery using quick smooth knife skills! Make your slices no more than 3-5mm thick and add these to the bowl also.
4. In a new smaller bowl, add all the wet ingredients and spices together and stir until thoroughly mixed together and pour the mixture on top of the shredded vegetables in the larger bowl.
5. Using your hands (clean please!), mixe the sauce and the vegetables up well, so that the sauce covers everything and the vegetables are all nicely jumbled together.
6. Pop the whole lot (which will look like it has reduced considerably now you’ve mixed it together) into a smaller bowl or the dish you will be serving it in, cover with cling film and pop into the fridge for at least 2 hours. And that’s it!