majestic coleslaw

My Purple & Gold Coleslaw.

My first Signature Dish!

The colors of majesty and the name of this recipe came to me naturally since I boast Gold in my surname and my high school's colors were, ironically enough Purple & Gold. I was a proud member of  the Wheeler School GOLD team pride, our mascot is a lion, our nemesis, the purple cows and all the ingredients I use are in the purple and gold color family.

I’ll also give myself a little toot of a horn - this recipe was my first published piece - in the ProJo, (That's the Providence Journal for those not in the know) winning a place in a column for healthy, economical recipes.

It feeds many, lasts a long time, it's D*licious, healthy, it’s made with very basic staples and it doesn't break the bank to make.

For the slaw

1 head of PURPLE CABBAGE - Core removed. Cut into 1/4s, Thinly slice. [Half a cabbage yields a good amount.]

Kosher or fine sea SALT  - to soften & pull water out of the cabbage.

1 red/PURPLE ONION – thinly sliced

2 JANA GOLD APPLES – diced

GOLDEN RAISINS - re-hydrated in very hot to boiling water

For the dressing

1 C - fine quality, preferably ORGANIC OLIVE OIL MAYONNAISE

1/4 C – Rice or Apple Cider VINEGAR

Splash - 1/4 C orange, apple or pineapple juice

A good couple of shakes of MIRIN

2T honey

Salt & Pepper

WHAT 2 DO:

I start by CUTTING THE SLAW:
Tear off and discard the tough outer layer leaves of the cabbage.

With a sharp knife cut the bottom of the cabbage off to give you a stable surface from which to work & slice, then cut the head in half.  Lay one half of the cabbage head flat on the cutting board and cut in half which will give you two quarters.

Starting from the top of a quartered section, not the root/stem end, THINLY SLICE - methodically across the cabbage section. If you don't like slicing with a knife a box grater or a mandolin works beautifully and the slaw can be made in a matter of minutes.

Cut as close to the stem keeping in mind the cabbage is tougher and quite spicy the closer you get to the core. Each time you cut a section of the cabbage add it to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle with a few good pinches of salt. Once you've shaved, sliced or grated the amount of cabbage you want and salted let this stand in the refrigerator for at least a 1/2 hour then drain the liquid out. You may want to dry hand fulls with paper towel at this point.

The slaw will now hold the dressing better and help to avoid liquid building up as the slaw marries its flavors.

For the DRESSING

Put the mayonnaise in a mixing bowl.

Thin the mayo out with the the vinegar, fruit juice of your choice, the mirin and the honey.

Mix until the mayo is not lumpy and becomes perfectly creamy.

I added three grinds of a tri-color peppercorn medley and a pinch of sea salt and mix well again.

If you feel you don't have enough dressing mixture, repeat as above but in another bowl and add to the preparing bowl. I like my slaw light on the dressing.

It's best to add these type ingredients: diced apple, hydrated golden raisins, chopped dates or apricots, and toasted sunflower seeds after the dressing has gone on & the cabbage & onion have released their water & the cell membranes have softened.

Refrigerate. Best served very cold after some time of marinating.