In the Kitchen - Cilantro Slaw

This is one of my all time favorite side dishes. They serve it at Cactus Bar & Grill, (warning music plays on the website so mute it if you're at work!) 404 S. Wells Chicago. (Shameless plug: Go there! It's a fun place with good food and drink specials). I'll order a cup of it instead of french fries. The bar just happens to be owned by my brother and I work there and several of his other places as a bookkeeper. I lucked out and just got the recipe so I can make it anytime I want (like for 4th of July). The original recipe was published in Bon Appetit June 2006. Like most of my cooking, it's super simple and inexpensive.

Cilantro Slaw

- 12 ounces purchased shredded three-color coleslaw mix (about 7 cups). I could only find a 16 ounce package of plain green, so I chopped red cabbage and cut carrots and added it to the mix.

- 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

- 3 tablespoons canola oil

- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (if you use concentrate use the appropriate reduced amount, ask me how I know)

- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Place coleslaw mix and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk canola oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Add to cabbage mixture; toss to coat.

A little trivia: Cilantro is the leaves and stems of the coriander plant. It is a member of the carrot family and can also be referred to as Chinese Parsley. Some people have a genetic permutation so that cilantro tastes like soapy, gasoline flavored water. Cilantro is widely used in Mexican, Caribbean and Asian cooking.

Enjoy!