Blue Cheese Celery and Walnut Deli Coleslaw
This richer deli slaw combines blue cheese, celery and toasted walnuts for a savoury, crunchy side that feels right at home with beef. Serve it with burgers, steak or smoky sausages when the barbecue table wants something fuller flavoured than the usual creamy cabbage bowl.
Ingredients
- 360 g white cabbage finely shredded
- 140 g celery finely sliced
- 35 g walnuts
- 55 g blue cheese crumbled
- 45 g mayonnaise
- 40 g Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 small shallot very finely minced
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
Toast the walnuts
- Place the walnuts in a dry pan over low to medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly toasted. Remove them from the pan, cool, then roughly chop.
Prepare the vegetables
- Finely shred the white cabbage and place it in a large mixing bowl. Thinly slice the celery and add it to the bowl with the chopped parsley.
Make the blue cheese dressing
- In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, minced shallot, sea salt and black pepper. Add about two thirds of the blue cheese and mash it into the dressing until mostly smooth, leaving a little texture.
Dress the slaw
- Pour the dressing over the cabbage and celery. Toss thoroughly so the vegetables are evenly coated.
Add the walnuts and remaining cheese
- Fold in most of the chopped walnuts and the rest of the crumbled blue cheese. Keep a small amount of each back for scattering over the top if you like.
Rest and chill
- Leave the slaw for 10 minutes, then chill for 20 to 30 minutes. This lets the cabbage soften slightly and gives the dressing time to settle.
Taste and serve
- Taste before serving and adjust with a little more lemon juice or black pepper if needed. Scatter over the reserved walnuts and blue cheese, then serve cold with barbecue.
Notes
The blue cheese needs to be punchy enough to matter, though not so fierce that it turns the whole bowl into a cheese dressing with cabbage in it. I like a creamy British blue here, something that crumbles easily and melts partly into the yogurt and mayo. Stilton works nicely, though any good blue with a savoury tang will do the job. I mash some of it into the dressing and leave some in tiny pieces so you get both flavour and texture.
Walnuts bring a bitterness that blue cheese really likes. Pecans are sweeter and softer, but walnuts give the slaw more edge, which is what I want beside grilled beef. Celery should be thinly sliced so it threads through the bowl instead of becoming chunky and watery. A small shallot is useful too. It adds a quiet oniony note without the bluntness of raw onion.
Nutrition
Calories: 176kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 5gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 5.6gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 412mgPotassium: 274mgFiber: 2.7gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 980IUCalcium: 102mgIron: 0.9mg
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