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Wednesday, August 29, 2001
Coleslaw salvation
Dressing should not be thin and watery, nor should it seep through paper plates
By Fredric Koeppel
Scripps Howard News Service

Scripps Howard News Service

Coleslaw is the all-American side dish that we associate with summer’s dining and picnic fare. The important quality of coleslaw — its fresh crispness — relies on raw vegetables that don’t possess soft flesh or exude juice or messy seeds.

   This probably happens to every man, woman and child in America sometime during the summer.
   You're at a backyard cookout, and you've heaped a paper plate with fried chicken and deviled eggs and coleslaw and potato salad, and you're sitting there enjoying the occasion - flags, kites, badminton! - when suddenly your plate sags and you feel a miserable dampness spread across your lap.
   Yes, you're the victim once again of soggy, runny coleslaw, not to mention an inadequate paper plate.
   Conclusions found
   Preparing several examples of coleslaw recently led to these conclusions about the All-American side dish that we associate with summer's al fresco dining and picnic fare:

Scripps Howard News Service

Buttermilk Slaw can be made with red cabbage for a more colorful appearance.

   1. Coleslaw should be, above all things, cool, crisp and fresh.
   2. The ingredients in coleslaw should not be shredded too finely.
   3. Coleslaw should be dressed lightly.
   4. Unless specified in the recipe, some of which call for overnight refrigeration, coleslaw should be chilled briefly and served soon after it is made.
   5. Most coleslaws do not work well as leftovers.
   The principle factor in coleslaw is, of course, raw cabbage, though contemporary recipes often call for such unusual ingredients as fennel, turnips and artichoke hearts.
   No one is certain when the concept of using cabbage for its uncooked crisp qualities originated, but it probably occurred sometime in the 18th century among the Dutch inhabitants of New York and Pennsylvania, because the term "coleslaw" shows up in print in the 1790s.
   The important quality of coleslaw - its fresh crispness - relies on raw vegetables that don't possess soft flesh or exude juice or messy seeds. No tomatoes in coleslaw! No avocados! No mangoes! And it's best to keep things simple. We should regard with suspicion any slaw that requires more than four principle ingredients. The classic combination is cabbage and carrots, but green apples and fennel, as in the example in the recently published Recipes from Home (Artisan, $30), by David Page and Barbara Shinn, owners of the New York restaurant of that name, also offer the benison of inspired simplicity and refreshment.
   Basic dressing
   Dressing for coleslaw can be as basic as oil and vinegar or oil and lemon juice, though many dressings incorporate mayonnaise or sour cream, for a creamy quality, as well as the nutty, spicy highlights of caraway or celery seeds. The primary flaw in commercial coleslaws is that the dressing can be thin and watery, making them, first, unappetizing, and second, prone to leak through those darn paper plates.
   Obviously, if you're traveling some distance with coleslaw, it's best not to dress it until you arrive at your destination or even just before you eat. And coleslaws with mayonnaise-based dressings should not be left out too long.
   The four coleslaws offered with this story illustrate a variety of techniques and ingredients, from the typical cabbage and carrots to the more radical green apple and fennel previously mentioned.
   What's surprising about these recipes is the small amount of dressing they call for. When I poured the dressings into the slaws, each time I thought, "Uh-oh, this isn't going to work," yet with repeated gentle tossing, eventually the dressings sparely coated every slice, chuck and shred of cabbage, carrot, bell pepper or fennel.
   It's also interesting that of the four, the only one that held up in the refrigerator to serve as a leftover was Home's green apple and fennel slaw.
   CLASSIC CABBAGE SLAW
   1 tablespoon kosher salt
   4 cups shredded green cabbage
   1 cup peeled, shredded carrots
   ¾ cup minced scallions
   1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
   1 tablespoon granulated sugar
   1 tablespoon sour cream
   ½ teaspoon celery seeds
   ½ teaspoon caraway seeds
   Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
   Dissolve the salt in 2 cups water in a large bowl. Add the cabbage and soak 30 minutes.
   Rinse the cabbage and drain well. Return it to the bowl and combine with the carrots and scallions.
   In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, sour cream and celery seeds and caraway seeds. Add the dressing to the cabbage and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate slaw 1 to 2 hours. Serve slightly chilled. Serves 6.
   Source: "Recipes from Home" by David Page and Barbara Shinn (Artisan, $30).
   FENNEL AND APPLE SLAW
   3 tart green apples, cored and cut into matchsticks
   2 small fennel bulbs, cut into matchsticks
   1 small red onion, thinly sliced
   ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
   2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
   Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
   2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
   Toss together the apples, fennel and red onion in a large bowl.
   Whisk together in a small bowl the olive oil and lemon juice; add to the apple mixture and toss together. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature.
   Add parsley to slaw, toss and serve immediately.
   Serves 6.
   Source: Recipes from "Home."
   BUTTERMILK SLAW
   ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon sour cream
   ¼ cup buttermilk
   1 tablespoon cider vinegar
   1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
   2 to 4 dashes hot sauce
   1 ¼ teaspoon sugar
   1 teaspoon celery seed
   ½ teaspoon salt
   ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
   1 small head of cabbage (about 1 pound), tough outer leaves removed
   ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon chopped red onion
   ¼ cup chopped parsley
   2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (optional)
   In a small bowl, whisk together sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, sugar, celery seed, salt and pepper.
   Quarter the cabbage and cut out the core. Slice the cabbage lengthwise into ¼-inch shreds.
   In a large bowl, toss the cabbage with the red onion, parsley and the dressing. Refrigerate for up to an hour. Add the basil, if desired, at the last minute.
   Serves 6.
   (Note: A combination of red and green cabbage works well in this slaw.)
   Source: "The Art of Low-Calorie Cooking by Sally Schneider" (Stwart, Tabori & Chang, 1990).
   FRESH COLESLAW WITH FENNEL SEED DRESSING
   1 large head green cabbage, outer leaves removed
   2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
   2/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
   1 large fennel bulb, halved, cored, cut into thin slices
   2/3 cup tarragon vinegar
   1/3 cup olive oil
   1/3 cup sugar
   2-1/4 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds
   ¼ cup mayonnaise
   ¼ cup sour cream
   Salt and freshly ground black pepper
   Core and quarter the cabbage and slice thinly to make 9 cups. Combine cabbage, red and green peppers and fennel in a bowl.
   Combine vinegar, oil, sugar and fennel seeds in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Pour over cabbage mixture.
   Combine mayonnaise and sour cream and add to salad. Toss well and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, tossing occasionally.
   Serves 6.
   Source: "American Favorites: New Renditions of the Recipes We Love" by Betty Rosbottom (Chapters, 1996).



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