John Whaite’s slaw

1. Use a mandolin to finely slice the cabbage and onion and put into a bowl with the grated carrots. Sprinkle over the salt and sugar, cover with a plate and leave for an hour or so.

2. After this stint the salt and sugar will have drawn out an incredible amount of moisture. Put the vegetables into a sieve and rinse under cold water, then squeeze out all of the moisture. The vegetables will have become a little limp, but should still retain a soft crunch.

3. Put the vegetables into a bowl with the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. The coleslaw will keep in a sterilised jar in the fridge for 5 days or so, but is much better eaten on the day it is made.

Variations
Fennel & Orange
Replace 100g of the cabbage with 100g finely sliced fennel bulb and continue as above. Add the juice and zest of ½ orange, along with 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds, toasted in a hot pan for no more than a minute.

Sunflower Seed & Dill
Toast 75g sunflower seeds in a hot pan for a minute or so, tossing frequently, until browned. Add to the recipe above with 1 tbsp of finely chopped, fresh dill.

Waldorf
Add 75g roughly chopped walnuts and 75g chopped dried apple to the recipe above. And if you have any, use apple cider vinegar in place of the red wine vinegar.