Best barbecue recipes: Endive and Apple slaw

Julia Platt Leonard shares an alternative to traditional creamy and heavy coleslaws for a barbecue side

Coleslaw – or slaw as we say – usually means cabbage and creamy dressing. It’s a classic and it’s hard to think about a barbecue without a bowl of slaw on the side. But sometimes traditional coleslaw feels a bit heavy – a bit too creamy – and that’s when it’s time for something a lighter and fresher.

This Endive & apple slaw was inspired by one that Samantha Evans and Shauna Guinn, aka the Hang Fire Barbecue girls, make. They’re the dynamic duo based in Wales who won a recent BBC Food Award. A couple of years ago they ditched their day jobs and travelled to the US to find the best barbecue.

They covered a lot of states and tried a lot of barbecue. Back home, they built their own smoker (named – get this – B.B. King) and started up a street food business.

Now they’ve got a bricks and mortar restaurant in Barry but if you’re not in the hood, their new cook book The Hang Fire Cookbook is out and filled with lots of inspiration. You’ll find all the staples – ribs and rubs and pulled pork and potato salad. It’s all great but one of the stand-outs is their Fennel & pear slaw. It’s an unexpected combination but a winner.

I followed their lead and made a slaw but with thinly sliced endive and Granny Smith apples. It’s got the right about of zing to stand up to any of your barbecue favourites. It’s also simple and easy to make. The key is to toss the sliced apple and endive in a bit of lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. At this stage you could place the bowl in the fridge. Go ahead and make the dressing but wait until you’re ready to serve before tossing the endive and apple with it.

Herbs make a nice addition. I used mint but dill would be a winner too. Or toast some spices like caraway seeds or even cumin for a different take.

Lemon oil is a dream with the lusciousness of olive oil combined with the zippiness of lemon. It’s worth buying a bottle if you don’t have one already. But if not, you could substitute extra virgin olive oil and add some finely grated lemon zest instead.

Serves 4 as a side dish

2 heads of endive, about 400g in total
2 small Granny Smith apples, about 250g total
juice of half a lemon
½ bunch of mint, about 8g

Dressing

1 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp white wine vinegar 
2 tbsp lemon oil
Salt & pepper

Slice the endive in half, length ways. If there is any hard, woody pith at the base of the endive remove it by making a v-shape cut. Slice the remaining endive into slivers, place in a bowl and toss with lemon juice to keep it from turning brown.

Quarter the apples and remove the seeds and core. Slice the quarters into slivers and add to the endive. Toss so the apple is coated as well, so it doesn’t turn brown.

Make the dressing by whisking the yoghurt, vinegar and lemon oil together. Taste and season with salt & pepper.

Mix enough of the dressing with the endive and apple mixture, so that they’re lightly coated. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper, if needed. Chop the mint leaves into ribbons and toss with the salad.