You knew it was coming, how could it not be? A lovely salad using our homemade mayonnaise, the ubiquitous coleslaw.
I love coleslaw, but I am really, really picky about it. I see it at the supermarket, just carrot and cabbage, sliced indiscriminately and slimy with a generic, sweet mayonnaise. This is about as far from that as you can get, even if you think you do not like coleslaw, do give this one a try, you may just be surprised!
So what do we have in here? I like to go and have a chat to the fridge and see what will suit in this dish. We want only things that are crisp, no tomatoes or avocado in here, we want veg that is good raw, but that does not add bulk without flavour, so no iceberg lettuce or mushrooms, and we want things that have clean flavours that are going to complement our mayo. For me, this is what I had that I thought would fit all of these criteria.
Ingredients
Carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
Red onion, finely shredded (spring onion would work here too)
Savoy cabbage, finely shredded (or purple or white, or all three)
1 cheek of fennel, finely sliced (optional, and not too much, we do not want too much aniseediness)
I stick celery, finely sliced
Red capsicum, finely sliced
Fresh mint, finely shredded (again, not too much, it is supposed to be a pleasant counterpoint, not a mint explosion)
Homemade mayo (go see the post on Mayonnaise to make your own)
One of the secrets to a good coleslaw is in the cutting, take a little time, make sure that everything is sliced or shredded nice and finely. Pop it all into a bowl and stir in enough mayo to just kiss each shred, see the photo? We do not want it oozing, if you want more you can pop a spoonful on top after you serve it.
I served this with a baked jacket potato and a nice bit of rump steak off the barbeque, and very delicious it was too.
The mint in the coleslaw is the innovation of my bestie Dee, who uses herbs in the most interesting ways. I had never thought to add mint to slaw, but it works and it is delicious, thank you Dee!