No-flaw coleslaw

Dave Hill won’t put coleslaw on the menu of his Spokane restaurant.

It’s not that he doesn’t like it. It’s simply too controversial, says Hill, chef/owner of Hills’ Restaurant and Lounge.

Too controversial? We’re talking shredded cabbage. Maybe some carrots. A little dressing. This isn’t the Middle East conflict.

But the devil’s in the dressing. And there are two warring factions: Mayo vs. oil and vinegar. It’s one or the other. No compromise. No peace accord.

“I don’t want to tell anybody their mom was wrong,” says Hill, who admits to preferring mayonnaise dressing on his slaw. But, he adds, “I understand the other school of thought as well.” How diplomatic.

There’s no need to steer clear of coleslaw controversy at your Labor Day barbecue. And you could always whip up two kinds of dressing if you fear a fight might break out.

Now’s the time for coleslaw. Farmers’ markets are brimming with beautiful heads of cabbage right now, along with other fresh produce to round out your slaw. Plus, the crisp, zippy taste of coleslaw (whichever dressing you choose) is a perfect balance to rich grilled meats.

And coleslaw can do double-duty, sitting along the main dish as a salad or plopped right on top of a meaty sandwich (say, pulled pork) as a condiment.

Can’t we all just get along?

First, a little history.

It’s believed that the Ancient Romans served shredded cabbage with vinegar, eggs and spice. But we have the Dutch to thank for coleslaw, as we know it. These early European settlers brought cabbage to the East Coast, where they grew loads of it along the Hudson River and turned it into salad called “koolsla.”

“Kool,” pronounced “cole,” means cabbage and “sla,” of course, means salad. And how did the earliest Dutch settlers dress their chopped cabbage salad?

Melted butter, says the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink. (Mayonnaise didn’t gain widespread popularity in this country until the end of the 1800s.)

Some early recipes also differentiate between “cold slaw” and “warm slaw,” the latter mixed with a warm dressing and sprinkled with hard-boiled eggs.

Look in deli cases, on menus and in cookbooks today and you’ll see slaws that have strayed far from their cabbage roots. They’re made with zucchini and broccoli and green apple (maybe even “cabbage roots”) – just about any kind of produce that can be shredded and topped with dressing.

But let’s just stick with good, old-fashioned coleslaw, made with a big head of cabbage.

That’s what Diane Green likes. She’s an organic farmer from Sandpoint who runs Greentree Naturals and grows a wide variety of produce and herbs.

“It’s the cabbage coleslaw season,” Green says. “Everything’s fresh here.”

Green gives out her favorite coleslaw recipe to her customers. (See below). It’s a mix of cabbage and bright-colored vegetables, along with fresh herbs. She typically dresses it with a mayo-based sauce but says you can skip that and just use a half cup of good-quality vinegar.

“That’s pretty darn good,” she says.

Sheila Jenkins and her husband, Max Storch, tried serving vinegar-based slaw at their North Idaho barbecue restaurant, The Historic Smoke House Barbecue and Saloon in Wallace. But customers didn’t go for it, Jenkins says.

So, the 3-year-old restaurant has stuck with a mayonnaise-vinegar-cream combination dressing mixed with cabbage and other vegetables chopped by hand each day.

To avoid soggy slaw, the restaurant keeps the dressing and the cabbage mixture separate until just before serving, she says.

“I’ve had it sit overnight and had to come in and throw it away,” she says. “It just doesn’t work well.”

But scoop some fresh coleslaw on the restaurant’s pulled-pork sandwich and you’ve got a match, Jenkins says.

“The tangy barbecue and the creamy coleslaw and the pork … it’s fabulous,” she says.

Here are some coleslaw recipes to please fans of mayonnaise-based dressings and oil-based ones:

Diane’s Coleslaw

From Diane Green of Greentree Naturals in Sandpoint

3/4 cup mayonnaise (preferably organic canola or safflower)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 cups thinly sliced green and red cabbage, mixed

1 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped red onions

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/2 cup chopped sweet bell peppers (we use yellow, red, green and orange for color)

1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (or more, to taste)

Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Toss the cabbage with the carrots, onions, peppers and herbs then mix thoroughly with the dressing. Taste again, seasoning if needed, and marinate, refrigerated, for at least 1 hour for flavors to mingle.

You can omit the mayonnaise and use only 1/2 cup of vinegar if you want a lighter version.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 196 calories, 18 grams fat (2.4 grams saturated, 80 percent fat calories), 1.5 grams protein, 8 grams carbohydrate, 16 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 251 milligrams sodium.

Buttermilk Coleslaw

Adapted from allrecipes.com

1 (16-ounce) package coleslaw mix, or equal amount of freshly chopped cabbage

2 tablespoons grated onion

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, black pepper, celery seed, milk, mayonnaise, buttermilk, vinegar and lemon juice. Mix until smooth.

Add cabbage and onion in two batches, stirring after each one until well-combined.

Chill for at least 1 hour.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 155 calories, 11 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 64 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, 11 milligrams cholesterol, 1.4 grams dietary fiber, 170 milligrams sodium.

Super Slaw

From Bon Appetit magazine, July 1998

6 tablespoons rice vinegar

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic

5 cups thinly sliced green cabbage

2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage

2 large red or yellow bell peppers, cut into matchstick-size strips

2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips

8 large green onions, cut into matchstick-size strips

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Whisk first 7 ingredients in small bowl to blend. (Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing.)

Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 277 calories, 21 grams fat (2.5 grams saturated, 64 percent fat calories), 5.7 grams protein, 21 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 539 milligrams sodium.

Oil and Vinegar Slaw

From “30 Minute Meals” with Rachael Ray

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil, eyeball it

1 sack, 16 ounces, shredded cabbage mix for slaw salads

1 teaspoon salt

Salt and pepper

Mix vinegar and sugar. Add oil. Add cabbage to dressing and season with salt and pepper. Toss with fingers to combine. Adjust seasoning. Let stand 20 minutes. Toss and serve.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 56 calories, 3.5 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 53 percent fat calories), less than 1 gram protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 302 milligrams sodium.

Memphis Chopped Coleslaw

From Cook’s Country magazine, August/September 2007

1 medium head green cabbage, cored and chopped fine

1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced

1 carrot, peeled and shredded

1 small onion, peeled and shredded

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup yellow mustard

1/4 cup chili sauce (a condiment found near ketchup and cocktail sauce in most markets)

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 teaspoon celery seeds

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

Toss cabbage, jalapeño, carrot, onion and salt in colander set over medium bowl. Let stand until wilted, about 1 hour. Rinse cabbage mixture under cold water, drain, dry well with paper towels and transfer to large bowl.

In saucepan, add mustard, chili sauce, mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, celery seeds and sugar and bring to boil over medium heat. Pour over cabbage and toss to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate 1 hour or up to 1 day before serving.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 161 calories, 6 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated, 33 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrate, 7 milligrams cholesterol, 3 grams dietary fiber, 702 milligrams sodium.