Adapted from Patricia Case
This recipe, originally titled “Grandmother’s Slaw Recipe,” appeared in “Lead Us Not Into Temptation,” a community cookbook my great-aunt Dent helped produce in Greenwood, Mississippi, in the early 1980s. Like many Southerners, I cherish my community cookbooks more than any others in my collection, and this recipe, from Patricia Case, who attended church with my great-aunt, is one of my favorites. For decades, I have earned the highest praise for this coleslaw, which I serve on sandwiches, tacos, and grilled or roasted meats—including hamburgers and hot dogs, on which it is absolutely awesome. As Mrs. Case wrote, it “keeps up to three weeks and stays crispy.”
Note: You could use red cabbage, though slaws are traditionally made with green cabbage, as red cabbage has thicker leaves (and also eventually dyes everything purple). Whatever the color, skip the core or thick internal leaves, as they’re usually bitter. I sometimes add fresh jalapeños and swap dried coriander for the celery seeds.
4 servings
- Stack the sliced pepper, cabbage, and onion in layers in a very large heat-proof glass or stainless-steel bowl. Do not mix. Set aside while you make the dressing.
- In a medium saucepan, bring the oil, sugar, and vinegar to a low boil. Turn off the heat and immediately stir in the salt, powdered mustard, and celery seeds. When well mixed, pour this over the vegetables. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until cool, then toss everything together.
- You can eat this immediately, but it will be better at least a few hours later, and best 24 to 48 hours after it is made. Store it in the refrigerator in a tightly covered glass or stainless-steel bowl.
Adapted from Patricia Case
Rachel Wharton
Rachel Wharton is a James Beard award-winning journalist in New York City with a master’s degree in food studies. She has worked on more than a dozen books on food and cooking, including her most recent, American Food: A Not-So-Serious History.