Red cabbage is a favourite of ours. I cannot imagine Christmas dinner without it; it looks so beautiful on the plate and really takes the festive flavours such as cinnamon and cloves to its heart. Often I cook it in red wine, but I know lots of people (my mum included) aren’t keen on food cooked in wine, so it is just as lovely cooked in apple juice (the cloudy kind is more softly apple-ish I find, the clear is a bit sharp).
It’s hard to see how such few and humble ingredients can make something so delicious that Dominic reckons he could just eat it on it’s own, but it does.
Mulled Red Cabbage
Makes enough for 4
A medium sized red cabbage
Enough apple juice to almost cover – about 500ml should do
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon of muscavado sugar
Put everything into a large pan. Bring to the boil and simmer, uncovered for about 1-1/2 hours until the cabbage is tender and most of the liquid has reduced away. C’est tout! Amazingly easy. If you like, and can find them, pick out the cloves and cinnamon before eating. As this makes enough for four and there are just two of us, we freeze some...
it freezes really well and there is nothing nicer than knowing that there is a little batch of it, waiting in the freezer, maybe to be brought out on a chilly night to eat with fluffy mash and some roasted chicken or maybe a nice beef casserole…