Carolina Cole Slaw

Carolina Coleslaw on a Bison Fajita

I’ve spent some time in the south, and you can’t live there for more than a month without falling head over heals for the local food.  My residency in Asheville, NC was what sealed the deal for me.  Carolina BBQ is tangy and succulent, and is enough to make even the most stalwart Mid-West BBQ fan sit up and take note.  For me, Carolina coleslaw was a culinary revelation.  There’s nothing like it, and there’s really nothing better.  Light, fresh, and perfectly piquant, it just screams summer. With the 4th of July coming up this weekend (my favorite of all holidays!) it seemed only right to post one of my favorite all-purpose summertime foods.  My recipe for Carolina Cole Slaw is one of my proudest creations.  It’s light, easy, cheap, and oh-my-god-delicious.  It goes with everything from bison fajitas* (pictured above) to ribs, burgers, and dogs–making it a perfect offering for 4th of July pot lucks (it’s what I’m bringing to mine!)

Ingredients:

1 small, heavy head of red or green cabbage

1 medium white onion

1 cup, plus 3-5 TBSP apple cider vinegar (to taste)

1 TBSP grainy mustard

2 teaspoons celery salt

3 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (start with about 2 teaspoons salt, and 7 cranks of the pepper grinder)

Removing the core of a cabbage

Thinly sliced cabbage and onion

Heat all ingredients except the onion and the cabbage in a sauce pan until the salt and sugar are dissolved–this won’t take long, nor will the liquid need too much heat to achieve this, so don’t walk away from the pan while it’s heating!  Remove from heat, and allow to cool completely.

Slice the cabbage in half and remove the core.  Cut the cabbage into thin slices.

Slice the onion in the same way you sliced the cabbage–first in half from end to end, then into thin half-circle slices (see photo.)

Add the cabbage and the onion to the cooled dressing, and incorporate well.  I like to toss the mixture for 2 minutes, allowing each slice of cabbage to be exposed to the dressing.  Refrigerate for up to 1 week in a sealed container.  This coleslaw is best after 24 hours, and I recommend making it the day before you plan to eat it.  If you opt to marinate overnight, be sure to give the ingredients a toss every few hours (or whenever you think of it) to redistribute the dressing back into the salad.  Serve with whatever summer food you like, and eat the extras on sandwiches, fajitas, or straight from the container!

*To make the bison fajitas pictured above, marinate a shoulder steak of bison or beef overnight in a tenderizing marinade.  Grill, and slice on a bias.  Warm a tortilla in your toaster oven, then cover it with a thin layer of sour cream.  Layer your beef or bison on top.  If you live in a place where avocados are grown, slice one up and add it to the pile (this is a worthy “splurge” item for those of you not living in SoCal.)  Sprinkle some green onion on top (if the season for green onions is over, a bit of minced red onion will do the trick) and finish with a generous helping of Carolina Coleslaw.  Enjoy!

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Tags: cabbage, coleslaw, easy summer dishes, farmer's market, farmer's market recipes, local foods, locavore, locavore recipes, organic food, recipes, vegan coleslaw, vegan recipes, vegetartian recipes