Lemon-Tahini Slaw

Lemon-Tahini Slaw
Julia Gartland for The New York Times (Photography and Styling)
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(2,383)
Notes
Read community notes

This vegan recipe fulfills the need for a creamy slaw that can sit out in the sun. Instead of dairy and raw egg yolks, this slaw is slicked with tahini and mustard. Capers, lemon zest and scallions are smashed into a coarse paste, then massaged into the cabbage to lend umami and a salty punch. Snap peas and radishes add crunch, but feel free to swap in celery, jicama, fennel or other vegetables. This is a decidedly savory slaw; if you want some sweetness, add honey to the dressing, to taste. The slaw can sit out — poolside, deskside, at a picnic — for up to 3 hours, and it keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 2tablespoons capers
  • 1tablespoon fresh lemon zest plus 5 tablespoons lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
  • 6scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1medium Savoy or other green cabbage (1½ to 2 pounds), cored and thinly sliced
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • ¼cup tahini
  • 1tablespoon Dijon mustard, plus more to taste
  • 8ounces snap peas, thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 3large or 6 small radishes, cut into matchsticks
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

111 calories; 6 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 473 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Chop and smash the capers, lemon zest and half the scallions together into a coarse, wet paste. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and the scallion-caper mixture. Massage with your hands until the cabbage is slightly wilted.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the dressing: In a liquid measuring cup, stir together the remaining ¼ cup lemon juice, the tahini and mustard. Add water until thick but pourable (about 3 tablespoons depending on tahini brand). Season to taste with salt and pepper and another teaspoon of mustard for more kick, if desired.

  3. Step 3

    Add the snap peas, radishes and remaining scallions to the cabbage, then stir in enough dressing to lightly coat. (Leftover dressing will keep for up to a week; thin with water as needed.) Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper.

Ratings

4 out of 5
2,383 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

I recommend: Always use the whole scallion, except for the bottom 2 inches. Plant that bottom end in your garden to get a nearly endless, free supply of scallions.

i felt like something was missing. something on the sweet side, so i put in shredded carrots. it gave it another flavor and I liked it! serving with a Mediterranean chicken tonight, so should be a welcomed side dish.

This recipe is STELLAR. One adjustment, I added a tsp of Mike's Hot Honey to the dressing for a bit of sweetness.

A bit blah. I agree it needed needed more balance, more sweetness helped. I'm thinking miso next time. The prep was overly fussy, too. Just make the dressing in an FP then pulse in the capers/scallions etc quickly. THEN massage the entire mixture in to the cabbage.

For the scallions, are you supposed to use the white parts, the green parts, or both?

Thanks for your notes, everyone! This is meant to be a primarily savory slaw, but we've added a note in the topnote to add a little honey if you want that sweetness. — Margaux, Senior Staff Editor

Felt like the dressing needed some umami; added about a tsp of Worcestershire sauce, really boosted the flavor. Also added a chopped flat leaf parsley at the end (cause we have lots) Tasty! For a 2 lb cabbage, this was barely enough dressing for my taste, will make a bit more next time.

Took a lot longer than anticipated (~45 mins) to shred finely and mix. Lacked something (I think my veg were not the freshest, fool) so added carrots as suggested (good). Don't like sweet slaws so tried ground sesame (good), togarashi spice (good), and accidentally cat fur from a malting summer cat (not good). Would up the tahini too.

I made this as written and found it to be one of the freshest, most delicious salads I've had in a while. A keeper for sure! Funny how I can find it so fresh, crispy and delicious, and others say it was the worst ever. #horseraces

15 minutes LOL!! You try slicing 8 oz of sugar (NOT snap) peas and matchsticking radishes in that amount of time: you'll be the next winner on Top Chef. The best part of this recipe is the dressing itself. The caper mixture got lost. If I made this again, I would double that and just stick to green and red cabbage and the dressing and spring onions. 3 stars for now.

This was a delicious slaw that will be in regular summer rotation! I love how the lemon, capers and mustard work together. I used stone ground mustard instead of Dijon and loved it. It would work wonderfully in a broccoli slaw.

After reading so many comments about how sour and acidic it came out, I added two teaspoons of honey, a teaspoon of olive oil, displaced about a cup of the cabbage with shredded carrots. Why not? The mandoline was already out and assembled. Everyone loved it. The cutting of the snap peas is a very time-consuming step, so if you're in a hurry, skip it.

This was terrible. Like, really, really bad. I had misgivings, but man, this is inedible. It's bitter and acidic. This is a major pass.

Don't know if this helps, but I usually use chives. I find scallions too assertive.

Why matchstick the veggies? String and roughly chop sugar snaps into chunks, slice or quarter the radishes depending on size and bite.Never matchstick stuff in salads like this. The texture always feels like eating shredded grass. Prefer the crunch and variety of different vegetable pieces. Otherwise a great recipe. I liked the dressing as is, but may try some sweetness next time. I literally picked cabbage & other stuff out of my garden 1 hour before making, so the sweetness was guaranteed

can i use flat snow peas vs snap peas?

On the second day, adding raisins seemed like a good idea.

Y'all are too dang hard on the Slagle slaw! It's a piquant project side for a summer week!

Love this salad. I 2x capers and used tree-fresh lemon, didn’t matchstick anything just box grated carrots & radishes and shredded the cabbage with my butcher’s knife, and no water, just a splash of maple syrup and toasted sesame oil. Rather than an actual “paste” I just smashed the capers, zest, and scallions with my knuckles to let them bleed a little. So, so, so divine. Addictive except enough crunch to feel satisfied sooner. Had to use sugarsnap rather than snow, no prob.

This was a a nice change for slaw. I used shredded cole slaw mix with carrots but otherwise stuck to the recipe. It still took 45 minutes to make. It does need a little something to expand the dimension so I might try hot honey in the dressing next time.

All good as is. I made this since I had all the ingredients on hand. Glad I discovered it.

Make dressing in food processor then pulse in scallions and capers.

Agree about need little extra kick Added a tbs soy sauce and hot honey Next time I’ll skip the mustard—so it will be a bit more like a cold sesame noodle dressing

Fantastic recipe! I made the dressing (of tahini, capers, and zest plus lemon juice) on the side so I could keep feeding the slaw over days without her getting soggy. I added mint seems like a no-brainer! I’ve tried it with poblano’s instead of snap peas, which is a different flavor way very good.

Good! Subbed black olive for Capers; next time use 3T. Olives. Used 12 oz bag of coleslaw. Snap peas take while to slice, more like 30 min prep. Served with edamame over brown rice.

Made the coleslaw- no mustard or tahini. Added extra lemon juice and a very light coating of kewpie sesame dressing. Included avocado, fennel, and cilantro…Mmmmmmm, so fresh!!!

I made the lazy and tired version of this lol. Loosely chopped the veg instead of matchsticks and shredding. And just added the capers, lemon zest and scallions instead of making them into a paste first. Loved the mix of flavours. Was definitely better after the first day, since the flavours had a chance to settle together better

I'm a one-bowl cook, so I started with shredded savoy cabbage, carrots, and diced radish and celery, then mixed in the lemon juice, tahini, mustard, and whole capers with brine. No need for water. It mixed together perfectly. Added some roasted sunflower seeds because why not?

I found this too lemony and like others added some sweetness (maple syrup) to balance. Added more tahini and nutritional yeast as well. The recipe says to massage the cabbage, which I did, but after salad sat wilted even before so I don’t think this step is necessary.

Unusually for an Ali Slagle recipe I did not love this. I thought the capers and lemon would liven up the tahini, but it didn't really happen. I added a good dusting of Tajin and that helped a lot, but there are better slaws out there.

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