Swedish recipe of the week: coleslaw with cinnamon
If you have some leftover cinnamon from last week's cinnamon bun day, food writer John Duxbury shares his take on this classic salad, adding his own Swedish twist to it.
Swedes tend to eat a lot of raw vegetables so it is not surprising that coleslaw makes a regular appearance at mealtimes in Sweden. Adding cinnamon may seem a little strange, but a small amount adds a little interest. It goes well with robust foods such as with venison burgers.
Summary
Serves: 4-5
Level: Very easy
Preparation: 5 minutes (Plus 20 minutes for the cabbage to marinate)
Takes 25 minutes
Ingredients
300 g (12 oz) white cabbage (about half a cabbage)
1 medium cabbage
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon
5 tbsp mayonnaise
Freshly chopped herbs to garnish
Method
1. Remove the core of the cabbage and any blemished leaves.
2. Finely chop the cabbage into long thin strips. (You can do this with a julienne slicer fitted to a food processor if you have one.)
3. Peel and thinly slice the carrot.
4. Mix the cabbage, carrot, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss thoroughly. Leave to stand for about 20 minutes.
5. Tip the cabbage and carrot mixture into a colander and drain thoroughly.
6. Add the mayonnaise and mix thoroughly.
7. Garnish with a light coating of cinnamon and some chopped herbs.
Tips
- Don't add too much cinnamon. It needs to add interest without being overpowering.
- Don't be tempted to use reduce fat mayonnaise. We were, but the coleslaw wasn't nearly as nice as it somehow seemed to make it greasier. The amount of saturated fat in one portion is, in any case, fairly small, at under 2 grams, so we didn't feel too guilty eating coleslaw made with ordinary mayonnaise!
Recipe courtesy of John Duxbury, founder and editor of the Swedish Food website.
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See Also
Swedes tend to eat a lot of raw vegetables so it is not surprising that coleslaw makes a regular appearance at mealtimes in Sweden. Adding cinnamon may seem a little strange, but a small amount adds a little interest. It goes well with robust foods such as with venison burgers.
Level: Very easy
Preparation: 5 minutes (Plus 20 minutes for the cabbage to marinate)
1. Remove the core of the cabbage and any blemished leaves.
2. Finely chop the cabbage into long thin strips. (You can do this with a julienne slicer fitted to a food processor if you have one.)
3. Peel and thinly slice the carrot.
4. Mix the cabbage, carrot, lemon juice, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl and toss thoroughly. Leave to stand for about 20 minutes.
5. Tip the cabbage and carrot mixture into a colander and drain thoroughly.
6. Add the mayonnaise and mix thoroughly.
7. Garnish with a light coating of cinnamon and some chopped herbs.
Tips
- Don't add too much cinnamon. It needs to add interest without being overpowering.
- Don't be tempted to use reduce fat mayonnaise. We were, but the coleslaw wasn't nearly as nice as it somehow seemed to make it greasier. The amount of saturated fat in one portion is, in any case, fairly small, at under 2 grams, so we didn't feel too guilty eating coleslaw made with ordinary mayonnaise!
Recipe courtesy of John Duxbury, founder and editor of the Swedish Food website.
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