You may be wondering, what makes this coleslaw German? Well, the answer is pretty simple: The dressing is inspired by a traditional German cucumber salad that uses sour cream as a base and dill as a fresh herb.
How to make German Coleslaw
In principle, this is pretty easy and only requires two major steps:
Preparing the vegetables
I started with pointed cabbage, but use any you have on hand. Using a knife or a mandolin, slice it up and put it inside a large bowl.
To season and to drive out any excess water, I like to heavily salt it, and massage the cabbage with my hands for a few minutes.
Let it rest for 10 minutes and continue with the other vegetables.
Simply grate some carrots, and dice a white onion. I also like to grate an apple, because they provide a natural sweetness and they work perfectly with the carrots.
Make the dressing
As mentioned, the dressing is inspired by a German cucumber salad, so you will need the following ingredients
- Vegan sour cream (“Schmand”)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Vegan Yogurt
- Mustard
- Sweetener of choice
Just mix them in a bowl and voilà, the dressing is done.
Drain out the sweated-out cabbage-water and throw the other vegetables and dressing into the bowl.
Finishing touches and assembling
Finally, add some fresh dill, which seems a bit unusual to use as a herb for coleslaw, but it draws its inspiration from the mentioned cucumber salad.
Season generously with salt and fresh black pepper and give it a final taste before letting it marinade in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Dishes to serve it with
Of course, you can simply bring it as a side for the next barbecue, but check out the following ideas for more creative dishes:
Crispy German Dumplings (Maultaschen)
Simply brush them with some olive oil, before putting them in the air fryer for 5 minutes. Take them out, cut them into thinner strips and air fry them for 8-10 more minutes.
You can add some salt, some soy sauce or left over coleslaw dressing.
On a Burger
Put in a fried tofu burger, or a BBQ Burger (check out my Pulled Jackfruit Burger).
The Recipe
German Coleslaw
Zutaten
Kochutensilien
Method
- Remove any old layers of the cabbage and slice it into thin strips. Add it to a big bowl, heavily salt it and massage the cabbage for 3 minutes to help to draw out any excess moisture. Let it rest for 10 minutes
- Into a separate bowl, grate the apple and carrots (optionally, peel carrots beforehand). Dice the onion and it to the same bowl.
- To a small bowl, add the listed ingredients, and mix to combine.
- Try to remove most of the sweat from the cabbage bowl and add the remaining vegetables, the dressing, as well as the fresh dill. Mix well to combine
- Add salt and pepper to your liking and give it a final taste to adjust the seasoning. Optionally, let it chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight.
