Soups & Starters
Side Dishes & Canapes
Warming Red Cabbage - A Trio of Side Dishes - No. 1
In the depths of winter I love making comfort food but, to go with it, I always feel the need to have lots of different side dishes too - getting my ‘five a day’ somehow seems extra-important when it’s cold and gloomy outside. At least there’s more time to make a fuss over the veg when the garden isn’t demanding my attention after work every evening - unlike in summer, when I tend to make a salad every night (not that I’m complaining about that) because it’s so quick and easy. Anyway, this week I’ve been happily ensconced in the kitchen in the evenings, experimenting with recipes for three of my favourite winter veg - red cabbage, broccoli and parsnips - and these are the ways I’ve most enjoyed eating them. Let me know what you think.
My other recipes in my Trio of Side Dishes:
But firstly, here’s my delicious recipe for red cabbage…
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 1 red onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 1 red cabbage, sliced
- 1 tsp ras el hanout spice mix
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 bay leaves
- 150ml dry cider
- 2 tbsp cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
- 1 apple, chopped
- 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly
Method
Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until the onion is soft, the stir in the cabbage with the ras el hanout. Cook for a few minutes, then add all the other ingredients except the apple and redcurrant jelly. Cover the pan and simmer for about 30 mins until the cabbage is tender. Add the apple and jelly and cook for another 10 minutes.
A Cook's Plot Tip
I've used ras el hanout a couple of times in recipes on the blog: for another savoury recipe, go to https://a-cooks-plot.blogspot.com/2018/02/venison-casserole-with-dumplings.html and for a sweet recipe, it's https://a-cooks-plot.blogspot.com/2018/12/iced-whisky-cake.html