Given how much I enjoy coleslaw – it’s a must-have accompaniment to breaded chicken fillets, deep fried chicken and chicken burgers, not to mention perfect picnic food – it’s a little surprising to me that I rarely made my own; it’s not exactly complicated to shred some raw vegetables and toss in a home-made dressing, after all.
But I always struggle to decide which recipe to use for the dressing. I’ve found many recipes for mayonnaise sweetened with a little sugar or tarted up with horseradish or mustard. I’ve found yoghurt-based recipes and recipes for buttermilk with maple syrup. I’ve found recipes for dairy-free vinaigrette versions. I’ve even found a recipe for a flour-based roux “mayonnaise” that looked like no mayonnaise I’ve ever heard of!
But when I asked friends for tried and tested suggestions, one recommendation immediately stood out:
My friend Jaxie told me about her partner’s condensed milk and vinegar dressing, assuring me that although it “sounds insane”, actually, “it’s bloody delicious”. As I love condensed milk in coffee, there’s always some in our house, so I just had to give this unusual coleslaw dressing a try.
She advised that her partner TS adds mustard powder for extra flavour, but I had a eureka moment and decided to use some wonderfully smoky sweet paprika I bought from a Spanish market in London last May. I chose cider vinegar instead of TS’ malt vinegar as I love the gentle fruitiness it provides.
All I can say is “Wow” – this was definitely a winner!
The tart vinegar balances out the intensely sweet condensed milk. The smoky paprika gives a fabulously earthy flavour that brings to mind the smoky aromas of a summer barbecue.
For me, an equal amount of cider vinegar and condensed milk created just the right balance, but you can adjust the ratio to create a sweeter or sharper dressing if you prefer.
Although I’ve provided approximate amounts for the salad vegetables, I suggest you grate as much or little coleslaw as you like, mix up a batch of dressing and mix it in a little at a time until you have a ratio of salad to dressing that works best for you.
You can always mix up another batch of dressing if you need more.
Smoky Paprika Coleslaw | An Unusual But Winning Recipe
Ingredients
For the salad
- 150 grams white cabbage (about a quarter)
- 150 grams red cabbage (about a quarter)
- 150 grams carrot (about 1 medium)
For the dressing
- 3 tbsp condensed milk
- 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
- salt
- pepper
Notes
Make sure you use sweet smoked paprika rather than the hot kind. The smokiness is key to the flavour of this dressing and sweet paprika gives a pleasing but mild kick.
Instructions
- Combine the dressing ingredients and mix well. Add a little more vinegar or condensed milk if you would like the dressing to be a touch tarter or sweeter. Taste, adjust seasoning and set aside.
- Remove any damaged or tough outer cabbage leaves. Wash your vegetables. Top, tail and peel the carrot.
- Grate your vegetables using a food processor or finely shred by hand. Mix together in a large bowl.
- Add the dressing to the salad and combine thoroughly. If you prefer lightly dressed coleslaw, you can add the dressing in batches, mix well and add more as required.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 days.
I absolutely love the simple combination of condensed milk and cider vinegar, and will definitely make this again, not just for coleslaw but as a general salad dressing.
The addition of a generous amount of smoky sweet paprika provided a very distinctive flavour for my coleslaw but you could stick to TS’s original suggestion of mustard powder or try other spices and herbs, to ring the changes.
Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!22 Comments to "Smoky Paprika Coleslaw | An Unusual But Winning Recipe"
I love coleslaw and have added smoked paprika to it before but with a vinegar and oil dressing. I’d certainly never have thought to add condensed milk!
Me neither, and it sounded crazy but I loved it! 🙂
Very unusual, but as I would always add honey or sugar to my dressing, it makes sense. Pinning!
Yes, indeed, and I love sharp and sweet combinations, but it does sound weird when you first hear of it. But it make sense and definitely works! 🙂
I’ve tried this. Eating it as I type. It is indeed delicious!
Very glad you like!
After reading your post in Wildfood I was all set to come here guns blazing and saying that coleslaw isn’t about carrot, but I guess just one titchy carrot in a sea of red and white cabbage is just about OK. (After all “cole” means cabbage). I’m sensitive about it because here in France, the stupermarkups insist on selling as coleslaw a product using more carrot than cabbage. GRRR.
Yes, the word coleslaw originates from Dutch cabbage salad, but dishes evolve and I think if you ask 100 people in the UK (and I’m sure in a few other countries too), the majority would see coleslaw as a dish that usually includes carrot alongside the cabbage. I’d say carrot versions have become much more common than cabbage-only versions…
I have tried cabbage-only coleslaws but find them a little lacking, as I think the addition of carrot brings a sweetness and different texture that is just wonderful!
😀
*everything* should include carrot. Except perhaps strawberries and cream.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
(Oh, I’m not against a bit of carrot in a coleslaw, anymore than I’m against some onion or even something like raisins. I agree about it being a bit “fade” as the French say, without something like that.
It’s when there’s more carrot than cabbage that I get twitchy.
Jane, I feel the same about cream and butter.
Yes, more carrot than cabbage seems unnecessary! 🙂
Tried it today and added red onion. Took a little getting used to the sweetness but with food (we tried chicken burgers) it was really good. Less like a traditional coleslaw and more really good burger topping. Thanks Kav x and carrot is a must. Adds requisite sweetness
So pleased you like it, both the paprika and balance of the dressing. And another carrot in coleslaw fan… shocker, you being Dutch and all! 😉
My take: coleslaw shouldn’t exist at all.
Why take perfectly decent vegetables and smother them in mayonnaise?
(Two riders: I mentioned this strong opinion to Kavey on twitter and she told me to leave a comment. Also, my mother’s American, so the coleslaw I’m used to is German-style onion and cabbage in vinagrette. [I don’t like that either.])
Your comment on twitter made me giggle! ! Cabbage and onion is closer to Dutch original but… I adore the sweet earthiness of carrot! 🙂
If dishes never changed and no variation was ever allowed, what would be the fun in cooking and recipe creation? It wouldn’t exist and neither would us food bloggers. As a food blogger with a Masters degree in applied linguistics, I’d say it’s all just a matter of semantics and as languages change and words are adopted into different languages, even if a word is the same word in another language, it doesn’t mean the meaning is the same.
Yes I agree! Evolution and diversion are totally normal… so dishes that naturally change make sense. I think where I dislike incorrect naming is where a restaurant just grab a name they like and apply it to completely different dish, which means you have no idea what you’ll get!
Thanks for this Kavey! I decided to make this for my Eurovision BBQ last weekend and it was a huge hit. I used evaporated rather than condensed milk (what I could find) and upped the paprika slightly, but the tangy/sweet/spicy/smokey was a really nice combination with the crunchy vegetables. Definitely a keeper in my recipe box.
So pleased you liked it and hope your Eurovision party was lots of fun!
Interesting alternatives but I do like to add nutmeg and pepper to mine. These tend to be obvious by their absence in most alternatives I’ve tried – somehow they work very well together to add the subtle kick needed. I’d be interested in your feedback!
I shall have to try… and you must try the base I’ve suggested but with your nutmeg and pepper instead of paprika?