The American cabbage salad you see next to the ribs and burgers looks like something that demands mastery, but it's actually one of the easiest things you can make at home. It's called coleslaw, and the whole secret isn't in the recipe, but in one small thing most people skip.

The ingredients are short: half a white cabbage, two carrots, four tablespoons of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of mustard, salt and pepper. The cabbage is sliced into the thinnest strips, the carrot finely grated, everything mixed in a bowl. The dressing - mayonnaise, vinegar and mustard mixed separately - is added at the end and stirred in nicely.

Here comes the trick that separates a watery salad from a crunchy one. Before you add the dressing, salt the sliced cabbage and leave it for about ten minutes, then squeeze out the excess water. That way the cabbage stays firm and crunchy, and the salad doesn't release water to the bottom of the bowl half an hour later. That's the difference between "wet grass" and real coleslaw.

If you want to smooth out the taste, add a little sugar, honey or grated apple - it balances the sourness of the vinegar and mustard. For a deeper flavour go for Dijon mustard instead of plain. And don't rush: leave the salad for at least half an hour, and if you have patience - a whole hour in the fridge, to let the flavours come together. It goes perfectly with roast chicken, pork, or simply next to the grill in the backyard.