Delicious UK - (11)November 2020

deliciousmagazine.co.uk 47

make it special.

Traditional braised red

cabbage with apples

SERVES 10-12

INGREDIENTS

• 1kgredcabbage


• 450gonions,choppedsmall


• 450gcookingapples,peeled,
  coredandchoppedsmall


• 1 clovegarlic,choppedverysmall


• ¼wholenutmeg,freshlygrated


• ¼levelteaspoonground
  cinnamon


• ¼levelteaspoongroundcloves


• 3 leveltablespoonsbrownsugar


• 3 tablespoonswinevinegar


• 15gbutter

Preheat the oven to 150°C, gas

mark 2

EQUIPMENT

You will need a large casserole

with a tight-fitting lid

METHOD

Firstdiscardthetoughouterleaves

ofthecabbage,cutit intoquarters

andremovethehardstalk.

Thenshredtherestofthecabbage

finely,usingyoursharpestknife

(althoughyoucanshredit ina food

processor,I prefertodoit byhand:

it doesn’tcomeoutsouniform).

Next,ina fairlylargecasserole,

arrangea layerofshredded

cabbageseasonedwithsaltand

pepper,thena layerofchopped

onionsandappleswitha sprinkling

ofgarlic,spicesandsugar.Continue

with these alternate layers until

everything is in. Now pour in the

wine vinegar, lastly add dots of

butter on the top.

Put a tight lid on the casserole and

letit cookveryslowlyintheovenfor

2-2½hours,stirringeverything

aroundonceortwiceduringthe

cooking.Redcabbage,oncecooked,

willkeepwarmwithoutcomingto

anyharm,andit willalsoreheat

verysuccessfully.And,yes,it does

freezewellso,allinall,it’sa real

winnerofa recipe.

Recipe: © Delia Smith 2009,
Delia’s Happy Christmas, published by
Ebury Press. For more Delia recipes
and to watch how to make Delia’s
perfect mashed potatoes go to
PORTRAIT: TREVOR LEIGHTON. FOOD PHOTOGRAPH: PETRINA TINSLAY deliaonline.com.

This qualifies as being one of the most

commented-on recipes over the 50 years

I’ve been writing them, and of all the red

cabbage recipes I’ve sampled nothing comes

near to being as good, so I have been making

it this way over all that time.

It is very well behaved, as you can make it in

advance and gently reheat it, or you can half

cook it one day and finish it the next. I couldn’t

be without it at Christmas as I simply have

to serve it with roast gammon with molasses-

blackened crackling. It’s a tradition. It’s

amazing too with roast goose, duck or any

kind of venison, roast or slowly braised – same

with boeuf bourguignon and anything with

strong, gutsy flavours.

Because it reheats well, I like to serve any

leftovers with sausages, buttery jacket potatoes

and chutney. But I have to say that, along with

all the above recipes, red cabbage also has

a great affinity with my recipe for very light,

very fluffy mashed desiree potatoes.