SWEET-AND-SOUR COLESLAW

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated Published July 1, 1995.
 Serves 4.

 WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: We wanted to find a coleslaw recipe that would keep the cabbage from watering down the dressing, with a piquant dressing that wasn’t too sharp. Salting cabbage caused it to lose most of its liquid, leaving the cabbage pickle-crisp. We found that salted cabbage also took on more of the dressing's flavors. The presence of the sugar in this recipe keeps you from having to rinse off salt from the cabbage, as is ordinarily the case.

 INGREDIENTS
1 pound cabbage (about 1/2 medium head), red or green, shredded fine or chopped (~6 cups)
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Ground black pepper

 INSTRUCTIONS

1. Toss cabbage and carrots with sugar, salt, and celery seeds in colander set over medium bowl. Let stand until cabbage wilts, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
2. Pour draining liquid from bowl; rinse bowl and dry. Dump wilted cabbage and carrots from colander into bowl.
3. Add oil and vinegar; toss to coat. Season with pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be refrigerated 5 days.)

 STEP-BY-STEP: Shredding Cabbage Shredding By Hand:

 1. Quarter, then core the cabbage. 2. Separate the cabbage quarters into stacks of leaves that flatten when pressed lightly. 3. Use a chef's knife to cut each stack of cabbage diagonally into thin shreds. To chop the cabbage, turn the pile of shredded cabbage crosswise, then cut the cabbage shreds into a fine dice. •