Smart Coleslaw with Pears, Walnuts and Cranberries

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Serves: 6

This recipe is from Mollie Katzen for the California Walnut Board. This tastes best when it's made at least a day (and up to two days) ahead of time. Leave out the pear and walnuts until just before serving.

• Ingredients:

Coming out of my shell for a wal-nutty surprise

2 pounds cabbage (one each, red and green), shredded

1 large carrot, coarsely grated

½ cup red onion, very finely minced

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ cup cider vinegar

¼ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

¼ cup nonfat yogurt

1 to 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or light-colored honey

½ cup cranberries, dried, or minced fresh

1 to 2 Bosc pears

Up to a cup of chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Wedges of lemon

• Instructions:

Combine the cabbage, carrot and onion in a very large bowl. Sprinkle with salt, toss to combine, and set aside.

In a second (small) bowl, combine the vinegar, mayonnaise, yogurt and syrup or honey, and whisk until smooth. Pour this, along with the cranberries, into the vegetables, and toss to mix well. Transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid, cover and refrigerate until shortly before serving time.

Just before serving, cut the pear into thin strips and gently mix into the coleslaw. Top with walnuts and serve right away, accompanied by squeezable wedges of lemon.

Note: Be sure to use a Bosc pear for this, as it's the only type firm enough to hold up texturally.

What the testers had to say

I love the ratio of cabbage and carrots compared to pre-shredded bagged cabbage, which is mostly green cabbage. The cabbage stayed firm and crisp for days. The sauce was a little bland and thin. While we loved the addition of cranberries, nuts and fruit in the coleslaw (I also added chicken and feta cheese the next day), we'll be using our regular dressing.

- Lisa Moreci, Oakdale

This coleslaw recipe is easy and quite good. The pears, toasted walnuts and cranberries set it apart from your basic coleslaws. It packed nicely for a picnic.

- Jan Gibson, Modesto

This dish was tasty and colorful. The fruit added something different to the slaw.

- Ann Griffith, Modesto

This is one good variation of the infinite variety of coleslaw recipes. Whether anyone would make it more than once is questionable. Nothing about it shouts, "This is it." Even so, it is worth a try if you are looking for a variation. The dried cranberries are the most interesting part of the dish. They could easily become an essential coleslaw ingredient. The Bosc pears and walnuts, on the other hand, could just as easily be dismissed, for they do nothing for a coleslaw except to change its essential character. Whether you want to shred 2 pounds of cabbage, half red, half green, may be a deciding factor, and whether you really need red cabbage at all (which I doubt) may be another.

- Ralph Moore, Modesto