Spectacular Spiced Red Cabbage

Spectacular Spiced Red Cabbage

I suppose I have never really given red cabbage much of a thought! If it has ever crossed my mind it would be as a vegetable to go with a Christmas meal.  Have we been missing a trick?!  This is a fabulous, flexible and delicious dish that you need to cook as soon as you find a red cabbage!

This recipe comes from our vegetable supplier Boxxfresh in the UK. They have a series of great recipes on their website (see here) – and this is one we use (largely) without any modification. That is other than cooking it on the Big Green Egg and cooking it without the lid on!

We have used this dish with so many of our cooks because it is so versatile. The thing that has surprised us more than anything though is how well it works cold.  As (what is almost) a slaw, it is fabulous. Try it with burgers you will be staggered !! So much so that we have found ourselves making it in June on the rare occasion you see a red cabbage in the warmer months.

Although we have made this in our kitchen – it is so much more fun doing it on the Big Green Egg certainly if it is a lovely sunny day!  The preparation is straightforward.  The core was removed from the red cabbage and it was finely sliced as were the 3 red onions.  The apples were cored and cut into matchsticks.  (We have also done without coring the apples and detected no difference in the final dish.)

We sometimes use the Tefal Ingenio saucepans on the EGG as you can simply remove the handles for cooking.  Alternatively, as on this occasion we used a large casserole pan – just select a pan large enough to accommodate the size of red cabbage you are cooking.

I started the cook off direct over a medium heat (Dome temp around 160-80C).  We added the olive oil to the pan and started off sautéing the onions until translucent.
Then the cinnamon stick, the apple and red cabbage were added and tumbled together. A quick seasoning with sea salt and black pepper before pouring in the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup and the work is almost complete.  Simply give everything a mix, pop the plate setter into place to move to indirect cooking and allow to cook for around 90 minutes without the lid (if cooking indoors cook for the first hour with the lid and the last 30 minutes without). All that was left to do was to moderate the temperature, give it the occasional stir and marvel at the transformation. The cabbage will reduce in size and change colour to a lovely deep purple.

The spiced cabbage is lovely cold, keeps well in the fridge because of the vinegar in it – when we have cooked a large cabbage we have certainly kept some of it for more than a week successfully. The only difficult thing is deciding what not to serve it with – it is so versatile!  Here we have served it with our Vegetarian Bourguignon where the spiciness of the cabbage is a perfect foil for the richness of the Bourguignon.

Do give it a try – it is a quite astounding dish. When you find some other novel combinations that it works well with …….

…….do let us know!!

 

Spectacular Spiced Red Cabbage

June 25, 2021
: 8 or more
: 20 min
: 2 hr
: Easy

Red cabbaged cooked slowly with apple and onions set off with a combination of maple syrup and balsamic vinegar

By:

Ingredients
  • 1 red cabbage
  • 3 red onions, finely sliced
  • 2 apples, cored and finely sliced into matchsticks
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 150ml Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  • Step 1 Remove the core from the red cabbage and it finely slice. Finely slice 3 red onions.  Core the apples and cut into matchsticks
  • Step 2 Start the cook off direct over a medium heat (Dome temp around 160-80C).  Add olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the cinnamon stick, the apple and red cabbage and mix together. Season with sea salt and black pepper then add the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Mix well.
  • Step 3 Put the plate setter into place to move to indirect cooking and allow to cook for around 90 minutes without the lid (if cooking indoors cook for the first hour with the lid and the last 30 minutes without). Give it the occasional stir. The cabbage will reduce in size and change colour to a lovely deep purple.
  • Step 4 Serve hot or cold

 



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