Spiced Red Cabbage

A lot of people have a "thing" about red cabbage, thinking it's all vinegary & sour when you cook it and make a big whingy face when you mention cooking it.  Well you haven't tasted mine...

Luckily my lovely Mother in Law adores the stuff - she never makes it herself as it's more of a group dish, so she was very happy when she heard I had made some for Christmas Dinner Part Deux.  It's very economical - this quantity would feed 8 people as a side dish and it freezes beautifully - perfect for those cold winter evenings.  For this recipe, I just used cinnamon sticks, but I have put cloves & grated apple in before & it is gorgeous.  I'd recommend that you put the cloves in a little muslin bag though & remove it at the end of cooking - there's nothing worse than biting down on a full clove & thinking that you've broken a tooth!

Spiced Red Cabbage

1 large Red Cabbage
25g Butter
2 Red Onions, finely sliced
1 Orange (zest & juice)
1 Cinnamon Stick
150ml Red Wine
150ml Water
1tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Freshly ground Black Pepper

 Whoops - no oranges or red onions...

Peel off the outer leaves of the cabbage, then cut into quarters and remove the core.  Either slice thinly by hand with your sharpest knife, or use your food processor to reduce the cabbage to thin shreds.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, then add the onions & cook for about 5-8 minutes until softened,  Add the orange zest and cinnamon stick & black pepper and cook for another minute.

Now add the cabbage, red wine, vinegar & water.  Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover & cook for about 45-60 minutes until the cabbage is soft & tender.

Check it every 20 mins or so & give it a stir so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.  Taste for seasoning & adjust if necessary.

Remove the cinnamon stick before serving!