Quickie Cole Slaw (Dairy)

I had some buttermilk leftover from a baking class I taught at the New Canaan YMCA. I made some biscuits but still had a bit more buttermilk left so I made a dairy version of cole slaw which was perfect with grilled salmon and a tomato-avocado salad.

Great warm-weather goodies.

This is a simple recipe because I used what I had — no parsley garnish, alas! Since I was cooking for just the two of us, this recipe —- half the amounts I usually use for cole slaw — took almost no time! And it was perfect for two people for two nights of dinner.

Buttermilk Cole Slaw

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 1-1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 3 cups packed shredded cabbage

• 1 large carrot, shredded

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Mix the buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and apple cider vinegar together until smooth and well blended. Set aside. Place the cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Pour the buttermilk mixture over the vegetables. Add the basil and thyme. Toss the ingredients until the vegetables are thoroughly coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let rest for at least one hour before servinve.

Makes 4 servings

Cole Slaw with Beet Greens

I bought the freshest, most gorgeous beets recently and used the bulbs for some recipes, but — what to do with the greens?

The greens were also crisp and perfect, as if they were just harvested.

However, Ed hates beet greens. I’ve cooked them any number of ways to no avail.

Truth to tell, beet greens are not my favorite either.

But I hate wasting food.

So I shredded the greens, shredded some cabbage, mixed them all together and made them into Cole Slaw.

PERFECT!

Not only did the beet greens add some flavor, they also provided a lovely color, which I usually get from parsley — but I didn’t have parsley, so it all worked out deliciously.

Cole Slaw with Beet Greens

• 1/2 medium green cabbage, shredded

• 2 cups shredded red cabbage

• 1 bunch beet greens, shredded

• 2 medium carrots, grated

• 3/4 cup mayonnaise

• 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon sugar

Place the cabbages, beet greens and carrots in a large bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and sugar together and pour over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients and let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Three Cabbage Cole Slaw

These days we entertain outside.

By entertain I mean (other than my kids and grandkids) one couple at a time, six feet (at least) away from us on our back terrace.

Fortunately the weather has been good and the outdoor insects have cooperated by being elsewhere.

We recently had our cousins over for a feast: smoked salmon and really fabulous Long Island bagels (they brought). They also donated homemade potato salad. I made beet salad and this coleslaw. I call it three-cabbage because it has green and red cabbage plus shredded Brussels sprouts which, after all, are baby cabbages.

I like coleslaw made with buttermilk — it has a tang that other dressings don’t quite measure up to — but if you don’t have any, you can substitute plain yogurt plus lemon juice.

This might be nice for Father’s Day or July 4th or even Labor Day.

THREE CABBAGE COLE SLAW

• 3 cups shredded green cabbage

• 3 cups shredded red cabbage

• 2 cups shredded Brussels sprouts

• 2 medium carrots, grated

• 3 scallions, finely chopped

• 1 cup buttermilk (or plain yogurt plus 2-3 teaspoons lemon juice)

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the cabbage and Brussels sprouts shreds, carrots and scallions in a large bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Whisk the buttermilk, mayonnaise, honey and mustard together and pour over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients, sprinkle with parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings

Two Color Cabbage Slaw

Picnic on July 4th? Of course! It’s the American thing to do.

So of course, we need to bring typically American food.

Like cole slaw.

Which has become an iconic American picnic dish but is actually not an American recipe at all. Cole slaw (which means “cabbage salad”) was originally a Dutch specialty.

Nevertheless, we Americans love it so much we have claimed it as our own and it is therefore perfectly perfect for any Fourth of July celebration.

Two Color Cabbage Slaw

• 4 cups packed shredded green cabbage

• 2 cups packed shredded purple cabbage

• salt

• 2 finely chopped carrots

• 3 chopped scallions

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• pinch or two of cayenne pepper, optional

Place the green and purple cabbage shreds in a large bowl, sprinkle with 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. Let rest for 45 minutes. Rinse the cabbage and wipe the shreds dry on paper towels. Place the shreds in a large bowl. Add the carrots, scallions, parsley and dill and toss the ingredients. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, cider vinegar and sugar. Whisk the ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients and let rest for at least 15 minutes. Before serving, taste for seasoning and add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings

Two Cabbage Cole Slaw

We're now in the dog days of summer.

Cole slaw weather.

I remember my grandmother making the stuff by hand. She used one of those old grater/shredders and by the time she was done preparing the cabbage and carrots, her hands were rough and red.

This recipe was much easier. It's basically hers, except I use two kinds of cabbage, which I think makes the dish prettier.

And of course, I use a food processor (slicing disc). Better on the hands! Much less time. Much less mess. Tastes the same as I remember.

TWO CABBAGE COLE SLAW

• 6 cups shredded green cabbage
• 2 cups shredded red cabbage
• 3 medium carrots, shredded
• 2 scallions, shredded
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the cabbages, carrots and scallions in a large bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar and celery seed together and pour over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients, sprinkle with salt pepper to taste. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Fennel Slaw

When you want cole slaw but don’t have cabbage and you don’t want to go shopping what do you do?

That was my dilemma yesterday.

So I made cole slaw without cabbage. Of course, then it isn’t really cole slaw, which actually means “cabbage salad” (koolsla in Dutch).

Without the cabbage, it’s just slaw. I’ve made it with celery, snow peas, daikon, zucchini and kohlrabi.

Yesterday I looked in the refrigerator bin and found a bulb of fennel, so that’s what I used. This is a wonderful salad that goes with just about anything you might be grilling over the weekend — fish, meat, poultry or vegetables.

Fennel Slaw

2 bulbs fennel

2 large carrots

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2-1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel

freshly ground black pepper to taste

Remove and discard the stems, fronds and fibrous fennel core. Shred the fennel and place in a bowl. Shred the carrots and add to the fennel. In another bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, honey, thyme leaves and lemon peel and whisk to blend ingredients thoroughly. Pour over the vegetables and toss. Sprinkle with pepper to taste. Let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. Makes 4-6 servings

Buttermilk Cole Slaw

An American summer calls for Cole Slaw. Which is very funny when you come to think of it because Cole Slaw is basically a Dutch dish (recipes brought to the Americas in colonial times with the Dutch settlers).

But, Dutch origin or not, this is a dish you can find at delis everywhere across the country. The stuff of summer picnics and July 4th celebrations and weekend barbecues on the deck.

Even my Romanian-Jewish grandmother made Cole Slaw (hand grated, before the days of the food processor).

I have a zillion Cole Slaw recipes. Well, not really a zillion, but a lot. Like I said yesterday about potato salad, I could write an entire book about this stuff. I always tinker with a Cole Slaw recipe and then, voila! I have a whole new recipe.

Like this dairy version that has buttermilk in it. The buttermilk (which you can use to make a smoothie or make biscuits or the best pancakes you ever tasted) gives this Cole Slaw version a nice tangy taste, which is refreshing in the hot weather. We’ve had some of that already, at least here in the east. This week I felt confused that it was still May but felt like July outside.

Btw, I usually shred the cabbage by hand with my big chef’s knife. I like the chunkier pieces you get this way. However, I use the processor (shredding blade) for the carrots and the s-blade for the parsley.

Buttermilk Cole Slaw

6 cups shredded cabbage (about 1-1/4 pounds)

2-3 shredded carrots

1 small grated onion, optional

2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, tarragon or savory, optional

1-1/3 cups buttermilk

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2-3 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

pinch or two cayenne pepper

Place the cabbage, carrots, onion, if used, parsley and herb, if used, in a large bowl and toss to distribute the ingredients evenly. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and pour over the vegetables. Toss ingredients, sprinkle with salt and cayenne pepper and let rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. Taste for seasoning, and add the remaining vinegar for more tang, and some salt and cayenne pepper if needed. Makes 8 servings

Buttermilk Herb Slaw

I am constantly amazed at how creative people can be with food.

Take cole slaw. As a kid I remember cole slaw as that deli stuff with shredded cabbage and carrots in a thin white liquid that you bought when you were going to eat hot dogs or hamburgers or some sort of deli sandwich, like corned beef on rye.

My grandmother made her own cole slaw, which she referred to as “cull sloy.”

But now, in specialized food stores, supermarkets and bodegas everywhere, you can find a variety of “slaws,” which after all, just means “salad.” My local store offers “Asian Slaw” and “Health Slaw” in addition to plain old Cole Slaw.

But I like to make my own because that way I can get creative too. Like with this recipe — I like the tangy taste of buttermilk and it lets you cut down on the fatty mayonnaise of a standard recipe. The shredded snow peas add a rich, green color and a crispiness. Adding lots of fresh herbs gives it the refreshing taste of summer.

Btw, if you think it’s silly to buy buttermilk because you’re never going to use it for anything else, read this.

Buttermilk Herb Slaw

• 6 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup shredded snow peas
• 1-1/3 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or scallion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (or use a mixture of herbs)
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Place the cabbage and snow peas in a large bowl an toss to distribute them evenly. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, chives, parsley and herb, whisk the ingredients and pour over the vegetables. Toss the ingredients and let rest for at least 15 minutes. Before serving, taste for seasoning and add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Makes 8 servings

Coleslaw for World Cup

Americans love coleslaw. It’s one of our favorite salads for sure. But it’s actually a Dutch dish. So if you’re watching or otherwise following the World Cup, how about making this easy coleslaw recipe for the June 14th game between Denmark and the Netherlands. Then you can use the recipe all summer and beyond.

Coleslaw

• 6 cups shredded green cabbage

• 1 large carrot, shredded

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise

• 1/3 cup plain yogurt (dairy or non dairy; if you use non-dairy, add a bit more of the apple cider vinegar)

• 2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• pinch of sugar

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the cabbage, carrot and parsley in a bowl and toss ingredients to distribute them evenly. In another bowl, mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Pour over the vegetables and toss ingredients. Taste and add remaining vinegar if needed. Makes 6-8 servings

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