Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw

I can't believe it has taken me this long to discover the greatness of cabbage. It is so versatile, extremely healthy, and amazingly cheap. Last week I found cabbage for 33¢ a pound. 33¢!! I was very excited. I made a Indian-style cabbage and potato curry, and this tri-color coleslaw.

The original recipe is from Cooks Illustrated, and although the texture was great, I felt it was lacking a bit in flavor. So I increased many of the ingredients -- a few more spoons of mustard, vinegar, and sugar, and used a mix of green and purple cabbage, and ended up with a deliciously creamy, flavorful, and colorful coleslaw.

I think this recipe begs to be tweaked according to taste. My suggestion is to start with the original and add more of this and that depending on how flavorful you like your slaw. Since I made so many changes to the original recipe, below I give both the original and note my changes.Creamy Buttermilk Coleslaw (adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

*2 pounds cabbage (about 1 large head), red or green (I used a combination of the two), shredded fine
*salt, to taste
*2 medium carrots, shredded
*1 cup buttermilk
*1/4 cup mayonnaise (I used low-fat)
*1/4 cup sour cream (I used ½ cup yogurt)
*2 small shallot, minced (I used red onion)
*4 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
*1 teaspoon cider vinegar (I used 4 teaspoons)
*1 teaspoon granulated sugar (I used 4 teaspoons)
*1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I used 4 teaspoons)
*1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Toss shredded cabbage and 1 teaspoon salt in colander or large mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Rinse cabbage under cold running water. Press, but do not squeeze, to drain; pat dry with paper towels. Place wilted cabbage and carrot in large bowl. (The folks at CI recommend doing this to prevent a watery coleslaw. Unfortunately, I was in a rush so I skipped this step, but will probably do it next time as my coleslaw was a bit watery the next day).

2. Stir buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, shallot, parsley, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt (to taste), and pepper together in small bowl. Pour dressing over cabbage and carrots, and toss to combine; refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.