For my husband, Christmas isn’t really Christmas without spicy braised red cabbage served as an accompaniment. He likes this recipe as you can make ahead and re-heat on the day (indeed the flavours are even better when re-heated). I admit that I wasn’t really a big fan of red cabbage when I first had it, but now I’ve come around and this German-inspired dish is one of my favourites. Though my husband and I prefer plums rather than apples (but I’m giving the original version here). Pears and quinces also work well as substitute fruit, too.
Prep time: 10/Cook time: 90/Serves: 8
Ingredients:
1⁄2 medium red cabbage (approx 500g), shredded
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 Bramley (cooking) apple, peeled, cored and chopped
25g light muscovado sugar
1 cinnamon stick
6 allspice berries
pinch of ground cloves
1⁄4 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp red wine
Juice of 1 large orange
Method:
Combine all the ingredients into a large pan, season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper then stir to mix well.
Put the pan, covered, over a low heat and cook gently for about 90 minutes, stirring the cabbage from time to time to prevent it from burning on the bottom.
When the cabbage is tender, take the pan off the heat and discard the cinnamon stick and allspice. Set aside to cool, put into a bowl, cover and chill the cabbage overnight.
To re-heat, put it into a pan, add 2 tbsp cold water and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to the boil and simmer for 25min.
