Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Spicy Slaw

Memorial Day meals must involve grilling, and those meals have to include slaw, right? I decided that must be true, so I set out to find a new and different twist on standard coleslaw. I flipped through a couple of other books before I thought to have a look at Eat This Book by Tyler Florence. I should pick up this book more often because I’ve only cooked from it a few times, but it’s full of great ideas. The food is influenced by all corners of the globe, and as you flip pages, each recipe offers a completely different style and set of flavors from the last. I’ve made the falafel with tahini sauce which was great, and now I’m wondering why I haven’t made the sauteed feta cheese or African-spiced chicken with green olive sauce yet. I got this book back in 2005 at our local wine and food festival. Tyler was at the festival, did a cooking demo, and signed books. In my book, he wrote: “Lisa, cook your heart out.” Well, Tyler, I’m trying. I’m still having as much fun cooking as I was four years ago, and I now realize I haven’t been using your book as much as I should.

The spicy slaw accompanies pulled pork barbecue in the book, but we paired it with grilled chicken sausages. I was thrilled to have almost all the ingredients for this from our CSA. Red cabbage, a baby head of green cabbage, onion, and carrots all came from Hands of the Earth Farm. Green cabbage was suggested in the recipe, and red chiles were to be used for color contrast. Since I had that lovely head of red cabbage and the smaller green cabbage, I used them both and then used both a red chile and a green one. The carrots and onion were shredded on a box grater, and the cabbage was thinly sliced by hand. Green onions, a red chile, and a jalapeno joined those vegetables, and the combination was mixed with a dressing of mayonnaise, dijon mustard, cider vinegar, lemon juice, celery seed, and hot sauce. A pinch of sugar and salt and pepper were added. I really like celery seed in slaw, so I garnished with a little more of it on top.

This wasn’t a thick, gloupy kind of slaw since the vinegar and lemon juice thinned the mayonnaise a bit, but the dressing was still nicely creamy. The crunchy cabbage and sweet carrots with the spicy chiles and zing of the hot sauce in the dressing made for a lively and delicious slaw. It was a great side dish for our sausages, and it would partner well with just about anything off the grill.


30 comments:

  1. For some strange reason I have an overabundance of cabbage in my crisper drawer right now, so this is a timely recipe. I love slaw --but only if it has a kick or something that contrasts with the standard creaminess -- as this one no doubt does, with the chiles. I think I'm with you on the purple cabbage, as I assume the color means its rich in anthocyanins?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice lookin' slaw you have here. It just wouldn't be summer eats without the slaw.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think slaw is the best salad and I never get tired of it. Love the ingredients you have added to it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I like the combo of the two cabbages and the fact that it is spicy. This is my kind of slaw. I make an oriental slaw. You've inspired some ideas for a new post. Thanks.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  5. That looks fantastic. Refreshing, yet spicy. Awesome combo.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, I love summer bbqs. Crispy cabbage slaw without gobs of mayo sounds delicious. I love the purple color in your slaw.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love slaws of all kinds - and I just love how colorful yours is! I would eat that up in a second!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Love slaw to death. Especially on a pulled pork sammie!

    ReplyDelete
  9. it was only a matter of time - no me gusto slaw - I'll taste it but thats as far as I go....

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the colours in the salad-and did you say it's spicy?All the more better :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. tyler is so full of words of wisdom :) i think you're doing a great job cooking your heart out! this slaw looks yummy :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. This looks both delicious and pretty. Can't beat the color of the purple cabbage. This slaw in a pulled pork sandwich would be to die for.

    ReplyDelete
  13. how coiincidental! I just had purple cabbage coleslaw, too...but mine is pathetic compared to yours!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful. I just made coleslaw for the first time a few weeks ago and am making some more tomorrow night. This sounds similar to what I made except for the spicy chiles. :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I like the sounds of this one, I sometimes shake in a little chipotle powder, so am all over the idea of adding a jalapeno.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fabulous spicy slaw with red cabbage! The jalapeno and red chile are a great addition!

    ReplyDelete
  17. My husband think the doesn't like cabbage and yet he loves coleslaw and sauerkraut. How to break it to him? I think he'd particularly love this one because it's not too gloppy.

    ReplyDelete
  18. So clever to use purple cabbage to brighten up the colesaw, you made it irresistible. Our BBQ stove just arrived yesterday, should try it with our new BBQ one day.

    ReplyDelete
  19. fact #1: i cannot eat pork (or chicken) barbecue without a side of good slaw.
    fact #2: this is a good slaw. nicely done. :)

    ReplyDelete
  20. That looks delicious! I love spicy food!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
  21. Love the spicy slaw! Anything spicy for me =) This goes well with almost anything I have to say.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Love all the purple in it - looks delicious. Have that book (and loving his newest ones), but need to cook from it more often.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Yum .. yum .. Lisa,
    the spicier the better for me.

    ReplyDelete
  24. This looks great! So colorful and spicy, what a nice little twist!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love slaw too. Very nice combo of flavors and colors.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love that it's purple - so much prettier than traditional green slaw!

    ReplyDelete
  27. lisa slaw is one of my fav salad.. this combo sound delecious.. gonna try this out soon.. cant waitt.. yummyy!! thanx for sharing :)
    chers!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have been partial to slightly sweeter slaws but I've been on a spice kick recently. This sounds perfect paired with summer grilled meats!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Eat This Book is one of my favorite go to cookbooks. You can find recipes in there from all over the world. The pics are great too. I hadn't tried this slaw recipe but I will likely do so soon. The lack of a stove/oven in my new kitchen calls for all the raw recipes I can get my hands on!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I got my Eat This Book cookbook in 2005 also, and Tyler signed it for me also and I got a signed copy for my friend, Sarah... and he signed mine, "Lisa, cook your heart out!" And my friend's - "Sarah, cook your heart out!" Lol! Guess he ran out of things to say after signing a few thousand books! He was really nice, though, and fun to meet and I, too, love the book. Keep up the great cooking. I have linked to your blog through my gardening/chickens blog and many people have told me how much they enjoy your blog (They all thought it was me until I set them straight). ~Lisa

    ReplyDelete

Blogging tips