One of the many books I got for Christmas was The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand and Vilna to the Present Day by Claudia Roden.  I’m only quarter of the way through it but so far I love the historical and cultural chapters with the various communities/traditions, and the way she writes the recipes.

It’s on the coffee table in the living room and I pick it up here and there to read a page or two, or to go back to a recipe that caught my attention.  Some bits I devour, others I savour, reading them over and over again, just as I do with various foods.

One thing’s for sure though, 99% of the recipes so far have made me drool and at the given moment of reading I always “want to make them NOW”.  All this with NO pictures of food, which to me is the clear sign of the perfect cookbook.

I haven’t had coleslaw in ages so that recipe was one of the “savoured” selection.  I read it, and then reread it and then re-reread it, all the while imagining various other foods that would make the perfect ‘side-dish’ for the coleslaw, how it’s kind of like sauerkraut, which got me thinking about stuffed cabbage, blah blah blah… So you can imagine the state I was in when I finally went and made me a massive big bowl. :)  And I know you’re thinking “so what, it’s coleslaw!” but it isn’t, it’s coleslaw perfection at its perfectest!  And forget the mayonnaise!

My adapted coleslaw

1 small white cabbage (700-1000g)
1 large carrot
1 sweet red pepper
1 small onion

Remove hard core of cabbage and shred. Coarsely grate carrot, pepper and onion, and mix with cabbage.

For the dressing combine:
6tbsp olive oil
4tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1tsp sugar (I might actually leave this out next time as the pepper gives it enough sweetness for my liking)
salt and pepper to taste

Mix vegetables and dressing well and leave in the fridge, preferably overnight, but if you’re like me and you can’t wait that long at least for an hour or two.