What We’re Cooking This Week: Semi-Creamy Coleslaw With Other Stuff

Mayonnaise in coleslaw divides us. Consider this recipe a compromise.

Semi-Creamy Coleslaw Photo by Jim Dixon.

Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.

Like most families, ours consists of factions that cling to certain beliefs. Mayonnaise in coleslaw divides us. Fortunately the crevasse isn’t so wide, and nobody’s as bad as the Fox-watching sibling who no longer gets invited to Thanksgiving. We came together over this not-quite-mayo-less version that I devised and call semi-creamy.

It starts with a basic vinaigrette—just good olive oil and apple cider vinegar to give it the acidic tang that an all-mayo coleslaw often lacks. It’s a critical element needed to offset the, well, all-mayo aspect. The salt and sugar enhance the flavor and help the dressing emulsify. I make the vinaigrette in a large bowl, toss it with the cabbage, then add a dollop or two of mayo and toss again. You get the creaminess without the gloomy quality the anti-mayo faction complains about.

While this is great coleslaw made with nothing more than green cabbage, sometimes you want to add another dimension or two, or maybe you’ve just got a vegetable in your refrigerator that needs eating. Almost anything can be added to coleslaw, which, after all, is just salad. The name comes from the Dutch koolsla: “kool” translates to “cabbage,” “sla” to “salad.”

I prefer green cabbage over red, which has thicker leaves and always seems tougher to me, although when you slice it for coleslaw it’s fine. You can use both, or even cheat and buy a bagged coleslaw mix. Our family, both mayo factions included, think this cabbage salad is better if it sits overnight, or at least for a few hours.

Photo by Jim Dixon.
Semi-Creamy Coleslaw

Semi-Creamy Coleslaw With Other Stuff

1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped*

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced and chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 Fresno or other jalapeño-sized spicy chile

1 teaspoon kosher-style sea salt, plus more as needed

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon or more freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons mayo, or more more to taste

*This is a perfect salad to make with the barely fermented cabbage, but taste before adding more than that is in the dressing.

Make the dressing in a bowl large enough to hold all the salad ingredients. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the vinegar, then stir in the olive oil until an emulsion forms. Add the black pepper and set aside. You can add the vegetables to the bowl as you chop them up.

Cut the half cabbage through the core into two pieces, remove the cores and chop finely, slice the rest of cabbage thinly, then chop the slices into slawlike bits. Trim the fennel stalks and fronds (some people use the frilly fronds, but I don’t think they add much color; though they do look nice), then slice and chop the fennel so it’s like the cabbage. Cut the chile into quarters lengthwise and remove as much of the white pith and seeds as you like (they’ve got the capsaicin that makes chiles hot).

Toss everything together a couple of times, then add as much mayo as the haters in your family can handle. Toss again until the salad is completely mixed, then taste and add salt or a splash of vinegar if needed. Chill for at least a few hours, overnight is better.

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