Foto: Mari & Annika

Wow, talk about a flashback. Herman Bagget opened Herman´s Sea Food Restaurant in Oklahoma City in 1939. And yes, this is quite a while before I was born. The restaurant moved to NW 16th and Classen Blvd. in 1969. By then I was both born and a regular customer at Herman´s. My parents loved the place.

I, being a kid, wasn´t big on seafood, though a shrimp cocktail was (and still is) a big favorite. Hot rolls (with “fresh butter”), cornbread and a kids´ menu were enough to make any junior happy at a seafood restaurant, even at Herman´s where jumbo frog legs, oysters and scary stuff like dorado and red snapper were daily fare.

But: Herman´s is legendary for their coleslaw. I tried for years to find the recipe, but even with this whole internet thing, it looked like Herman might have taken the recipe with him to the grave. I made a new attempt a while back and (what do you know): there it was. I can not say this is the 100% exact same recipe the restaurant used, but I can tell you it´s close. And in this case close is close enough.

Herman´s slaw is of course cabbage-based. It´s not a creamy dressing, and as I am not a huge fan of creamy coleslay that is just fine. There are a couple of points of uniqueness about this slaw; the first being the pimento (grilled red peppers). The other thing separating this slaw from all the others is that the dressing is boiled and immediately poured over the cabbage. For me this process seems so very wrong, but in this case it is definitely right.

If you like coleslaw my guess is you will love this recipe. For those of you who generally eat a creamier coleslaw, this is a wonderful gateway drug as you make your way into the world of vinegary, non-dairy, where´s-the-mayo coleslaw.

For my English-speaking readers you can find the recipe in English by doing a quick Google search. For my Norwegian buddies, here is the recipe – all translated and ready to roll. Enjoy!

 

 Herman´s Slaw

2 kg hodekål

2 vanlig løk, skrelte

125 g sukker

2,5 dl eplesidereddik

1 ts sennepspulver

2 ts salt

1 ts sellerifrø (litt vanskelig å finne kanskje, men verdt det; eller kan det sløyfes)

3-4 stk grillet rød paprika (gjerne hermetiske), finhakket

1 hvitløkfedd, presset

ca 1,5 dl solsikkeolje

1. Riv kål og løk på et rivjern.
2. Hell 100 g av sukkeret over grønnsakene. La stå i én time.
3. Blandsammen eddik, resten av sukkeret, sennepspulver, salt og sellerifrø i en liten gryte. Kok opp, reduser varmen, og småkok til sukkeret er oppløst.
4. Hell denne blandingen over kål- og løkblandingen, og rør godt sammen.
5. Tilsett grillet paprika, hvitløk og olje og bland godt sammen.

La stå i minst 30 minutter før servering.

Oppbevar i kjøleskapet.

Tips: Du kan også tilsette 2 revne gulrøtter til oppskriften hvis ønskelig, enten istedenfor eller i tillegg til, den grillede paprikaen.