An Original Southern Recipe Made Low Fodmap
One of my favorite salads from my years in both GA and VA is low fodmap southern coleslaw. It has the creamiest dressing, the loveliest vinegary, slightly sweet taste, and a crunchy goodness that goes with so many summertime dishes.
This southern coleslaw recipe was not easy to come by. Southerners guard their slaw dressing recipe or leave out a key ingredient – the little devils – but I guarantee this recipe is the real thing. I just tweaked it a bit to make it low fodmap.
How I Learned to Cook Southern
When I moved to Atlanta in 1963, southern food to me meant fried chicken and that was about it. I soon learned how different southern cooking was because Italian imported products did not exist in the Atlanta of the 60’s.
My parents came once a year, driving down in Dad’s Cadillac (Yes folks, back in the sixties, the Cadillac was the American dream car) that was loaded down with imported cold cuts, meats, parmesan cheese, olive oil and bunches of fresh basil.
But in between those lovely excursions, I had to use what was popular at the Piggly Wiggly. I never heard of chuck roast, pork butt, pimento cheese, sausage biscuits, chicken fried steak, or sweet cole slaw, but I learned over the seven years I lived there. When Paula Dean came on the Food Network, I could relate to her in spite of her country accent because all her “southern” recipes were so familiar to me.
My New Mother-in-law Finally Shared
This recipe for cole slaw comes to me by way of my Carolina mother-in-law and I have used it ever since, even now that I live in CT. A great recipe works no matter where you live. I wish I could say that she was happy to share it, but I actually had to secretly watch her make it. She never measured anything, so I had to play around with the ingredients, but finally it tasted like hers and I am sharing it with you all. (or should I say Y ‘all?)
Gone Are the Country Cooks of Her Day
My Carolina mother-in-law (Bonnie Johnson) was a lovely country lady who could make an amazing meal from a few simple ingredients. She used fresh produce from her own well tilled garden , had her own secret flavorings and herbs, was willing to scrub a mountain of veggies, blanched her greens before cooking them, cooked meat for hours if need be, and never minded the horrendous cleanup from all her efforts.
Her fried chicken was meltingly moist and crispy, her pork butt fell from the bone when you touched it, her creasy greens were light, fresh and full of ham flavoring. And finally, her coleslaw was sweet, vinegary, light and fresh. I never found out how to make her smothered fried chicken, or her wonderful boiled beans with ham hock, but I make her coleslaw to this day.
In turn I showed her how to make a simple Italian tomato sauce to put on spaghetti that was far better than the one she made using tomato paste and ketchup. (Help!) Still, I learned so much about how to cook from just watching her in the kitchen. I realized that no matter what cuisine you are cooking, it all takes effort and love.
Ingredients:
1 small head of green cabbage, shredded thin
1 large carrot or three baby carrots, shredded
1/2 medium red onion, diced (use 1/2 cup sliced green scallion stems and a small bunch of chopped chives for low fodmap onion flavor)
2 1/2 tbsp sugar or to taste
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2/3 cup of mayonnaise
1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
Directions:
Take off the outer leaves of the cabbage until you reach fresh light green leaves. Cut the cabbage in two and with a knife take out the core, leaving the cabbage with a wedge shaped space in each half. You can either thinly slice the cabbage using a very sharp knife, or you can use the shred tube of a food processor. Place the shreds in a large ceramic bowl.
Shred your carrot in a food processor or grate it using the largest holes on a box grater because you want to be able to see the pretty color of the carrot throughout the slaw. Place the carrot shreds in the bowl with the carrots. Peel and chop 1/2 the red onion. Sprinkle the chopped onion or chopped green scallion stems over the shredded cabbage and carrots.
In a small ceramic bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients: the oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning. Then pour this dressing over the cabbage mixture in the bowl and toss together until everything is well coated with dressing. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
You can serve it set on a large butter lettuce leaf or just alone on a small salad plate, or in a gorgeous bowl on your buffet or picnic table.
Try not to eat it all yourself while making it because the dressing combination is extremely addictive and while you are gobbling it up you tell yourself that cabbage is calorie free and good for you. However, sadly, mayonnaise is not! Happily, small portions are fine.
Quick Southern Cole Slaw
Ingredients
- 1 small head of green cabbage shredded thin
- 1 large carrot or three baby carrots shredded
- 1/2 medium red onion or chopped scallion stems and chopped chives for low fodmap diced
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar or to taste
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2/3 cup of mayonnaise
- 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Take off the outer leaves of the cabbage until you reach fresh light green leaves. Cut the cabbage in two and with a knife take out the core, leaving the cabbage with a wedge shaped space in each half. You can either thinly slice the cabbage using a very sharp knife, or you can use the shred tube of a food processor. Place the shreds in a large ceramic bowl.
- Shred your carrot in a food processor or grate it using the largest holes on a box grater because you want to be able to see the pretty color of the carrot throughout the slaw.Place the carrot shreds in the bowl with the carrots. If using onion,peel and chop 1/2 the red onion. OR, for low fodmap, chop the light green stems of several scallions and a small bunch of chives. Sprinkle the chopped onion or scallion stems and chives over the shredded cabbage and carrots.
- In a small ceramic bowl whisk together the rest of the ingredients: the oil, vinegar,mayonnaise, sugar, salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning. Then pour this dressing over the cabbage mixture in the bowl and toss together until everything is well coated with dressing. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- You can serve it set on a large butter lettuce leaf or just alone on a small salad plate, or in a gorgeous bowl on your buffet or picnic table.
- Try not to eat it all yourself while making it because the dressing combination is extremely addictive and while you are gobbling it up you tell yourself that cabbage is calorie free and good for you. However, sadly, mayonnaise is not! Happily, small portions are fine.
…and it’s purty!