Carrot and Onion Sandwich Slaw

In a tiny town in Western Pennsylvania, amidst a paper mill, a rivet factory and hundred-year old houses, there exists a small pizza shop called East End Pizza. It is known throughout the world for it's hoagies, and the onion slaw with which they stuff each one of those amazingly addictive subs.

Now, if you are here to find the recipe for that onion slaw, this is NOT it. I would never commit culinary blaspheme by posting a recipe for that which you can only obtain at the revered shop itself. But it was the inspiration for my own canned slaw recipe. To cut down on the monumental onion-breath it causes, and because they are the subject of this month's canjam-



-I replaced much of the onion with carrot. Because I was canning my slaw, I had to add more vinegar than the original. Not sure about the dried spices, I used my own Italian Combination. And I also added fresh garlic, just because I like it. You could shred the vegetables, or use a mandolin, if you're not feeling up to the intricate knife work; but I find it to be an enjoyable pastime, akin to meditation. Here it is:

3 sterilized pint jars, lids and rings
4 cups matchstick carrots (this is how a Korean taught me to easily cut beautiful matchsticks with no waste)
2 cups julienne onion
3 cloves thinly sliced garlic
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. fine salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
16 oz. white wine vinegar

Toss carrots, onion, spices and salt. Bring vinegar to a boil. Pack veg into jars and fill with vinegar. Process for 10 minutes. (Follow all standard canning procedures- you can learn about them here.)

To consume, drain slaw and toss in extra virgin olive oil. Spoon generously onto your favorite deli sandwich.