Coleslaw
Salting the cabbage first is the difference between coleslaw and cabbage sitting in a puddle.
- 120
- kcal
- 2g
- protein
- 9g
- fat
- 8g
- carbs
- Prep
- 20 min
- Serves
- 6
Photograph by Engin Akyurt on Pexels
Ingredients
- 1/2 head white cabbage, shredded fine
- 2 carrots, julienned
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
Method
-
1
Toss the cabbage with the salt and leave in a colander for 30 minutes. Squeeze out the water that comes off.
-
2
Whisk the mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar and mustard together.
-
3
Combine everything and rest 20 minutes before serving.
Salting is not optional
Cabbage is around 92% water and it will release that water into your dressing over the following hour whether you plan for it or not. Salting draws it out first, by osmosis, so the dressing stays a dressing rather than becoming a thin liquid at the bottom of the bowl.
Thirty minutes is the minimum and an hour is better. Squeeze firmly — you should get a surprising amount of liquid out — and do not rinse, or you remove the seasoning along with the water.
The dressing ratio
The three-to-two mayonnaise-to-yoghurt split is a deliberate compromise. All mayonnaise is richer and heavier, and the slaw tastes of dressing rather than cabbage; all yoghurt is sharp and thin and separates. The mustard is an emulsifier as much as a flavour, holding the two together.
To cut the calories further, shift the ratio toward yoghurt and add a teaspoon of honey to compensate for the lost richness. At full yoghurt the slaw comes in around 60 kcal a serving instead of 120.
Variations
- Red cabbage for colour, though it will bleed into the dressing within an hour.
- Apple, julienned, added just before serving so it does not brown.
- Caraway or celery seed, either of which pushes it toward the central European version.
- No mayonnaise at all — cider vinegar, oil, mustard and a little sugar makes a vinegar slaw that keeps far longer.
Keeping it
Two days at most with a creamy dressing, and it is best in the first few hours. A vinegar-based slaw keeps a week and genuinely improves after a day.
What it is worth nutritionally
The cabbage and carrot are close to free in calorie terms; essentially all 120 kcal is the dressing. That is the useful thing to know about coleslaw generally — it is a vegetable dish whose nutrition is decided almost entirely by what you dress it with.
