3 Super-Healthy Slaw Recipes for Spring

Looking to add a quick healthy fix to your meals? Easy-to-make food processor slaws are the way to go. SuperSlaw by Jill Greenwood contains dozens of superfood coleslaw recipes to help you get your five-a-day, every day this season. So how about a slaw recipe or three? Try before you buy with three of our favourite recipes from the book. 

Interview with Melissa Hemsley: Zero-Waste Cooking

3 Healthy Slaw Recipes

Hummus Slaw Recipe

Makes 4 large portions

Hummus is a staple in most fridges these days and a way of adding some protein and good fats to dishes. For an extra Middle Eastern feel, add purple olives or dry-cured black olives.

In the Middle Ages, cumin seed was thought to enhance love and fidelity, so it is said to have been carried by wedding guests as a sign of luck. It has a pungent flavour, which works well with tahini and chickpeas.

Ingredients:

• 1 broccoli, cut into quarters
• 2 courgettes
• 6 olives (black or purple)
• 3 carrots
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons hummus
• 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Sea salt

Method:

1. Place the central chopping attachment into the bowl of the processor.
2. Place the broccoli in the bowl and replace the lid. Pulse until thickly chopped, then tip into a waiting bowl.
3. Add the courgettes and olives and pulse until small chunky pieces before adding to the broccoli in the bowl.
4. Next, change your chopping tool to the flat ‘chopper’ blade. If you prefer, you can chop by hand, grater or a spiralizer for a lovely ribbon effect. Feed the carrots into the opening at the top while turning the food processor on until thinly sliced. Add to the mix.
5. Put the mustard, olive oil, hummus and vinegar into an empty jam jar.
6. Place the lid on and shake vigorously. This will be a thick consistency – if you need to thin it, add a little more vinegar.
7. Pour over the slaw and mix well. Sprinkle with the cumin and sea salt.

Morph your slaw

Hummus Kebab

1. Pan-fry cubed chicken pieces for 5–7 minutes, or skewer the meat and grill for 8 minutes.
2. Pile the slaw and chicken on to a flat bread.
3. Top with natural yoghurt and a sprinkle of cumin.

Toppers

Balance this higher fat dish by topping with a lean protein source, such as fish, turkey or chicken.

Purple Power Slaw Recipe

Makes 4 large portions

Purple is a bit of a power colour in nature. Studies reveal that purple foods tend to be higher in anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant. Most supermarkets have got into the purple groove with many unusual new purple vegetable varieties becoming standard on their shelves. It is a great way of getting more colours into your diet and an easy way to make your dishes look more exciting and sneak in those extra vitamins.

Ingredients:

• 1 small or ½ larger red cabbage, core removed and chopped into large chunks
• 150 g purple sprouting broccoli
• 100 g purple kale sprouts
• 1 small handful of green beans, topped and tailed
• 1 small handful of purple mangetout
• 2–3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3–4 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt
• Sumac

Method:

1. Place the central chopping attachment into the main bowl of the food processor and add in the chunks of red cabbage. Pulse until chopped evenly. Tip into a waiting bowl.
2. Add in the broccoli and kale sprouts and repeat (they tend to be slightly more robust veg, so they may take a little longer to chop). Add to the mix.
3. Repeat with the beans and mangetout.
4. Place the vinegar, olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and sumac into a jam jar. Replace the lid and shake vigorously.
5. Pour the dressing over the slaw and mix well.

Morph your slaw

Stir-fried Purple Power with Bean Sprouts

1. Heat a little oil (I use coconut oil) in a pan or wok over a medium heat and add in a handful of washed, fresh bean sprouts. Stir to coat in the oil.
2. Add in any slaw and mix into the bean sprouts.
3. Cook for 2–3 minutes, or until heated through.
4. Sprinkle over some dried chilli flakes and serve with a piece of cooked, flaked salmon.

Toppers

A piece of grilled salmon and a few blackberries makes this into an Instagram-worthy slaw.

SuperHero Slaw Recipe

Makes 4 large portions

SuperHero Slaw was born after I hit the kitchen feeling tired, but creative. I had been given a huge amount of raw cacao, which, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to do with! I’m not a natural baker, but having heard so much about the antioxidant benefits I wanted to introduce it into a slaw to see if it would work in a vegetable dish – and I wasn’t disappointed with a winning sweet-and-sour flavour. Apparently it has up to four times the antioxidants of green tea, but without the bitter aftertaste.

Ingredients:

• 200 g spinach
• 150 g broccoli, cut into quarters
• 10–12 radishes, topped and tailed
• 10 pitted purple olives (I use Kalamata)
• 10 caper berries, stems removed
• 2–3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon raw cacao powder
• ½ teaspoon sweet chilli sauce
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sea salt

Method:

1. Place the central chopping attachment into the main bowl of the food processor.
2. Place the spinach and broccoli into the main bowl. Pulse gently until small, chunky pieces form. You may need to do this in stages.
3. Next, add the radishes and olives and pulse until chopped and resembling a chunky paste.
4. Chop the caper berries by hand into halves and add to the mix.
5. Add the vinegar, cacao powder, sweet chilli sauce, olive oil and sea salt to a jam jar. Place the lid on and shake vigorously. If the mixture is too thick you can stir with a teaspoon or add in a little more vinegar.
6. Add to the slaw and mix well.

Morph your slaw

Superhero Fruit Salad

1. Chop a kiwi, apple and a pear into cubes.
2. Mix in a few handfuls of leftover slaw.
3. Sprinkle with nuts, seeds and a dollop of crème fraîche.

Toppers

Quartered figs will give this slaw a lovely sweetness.

SuperSlaw by Jill Greenwood, (Ebury Press, £12.99). Photography by Lara Messer.

MORE RECIPES: Ollie Dabbous’ Fresh Pasta / Avobar’s Moroccan Superfood Bowl / Marcus Wareing’s Caramelised Cauliflower Cheese