Red cabbage

"The initial excitement was for its deep magenta leaves with their dusty bloom of mauve. As you turn the hard head of leaves over in your hand, you cannot but help picture the brilliant, jewel-like colours you will get when your shredded red cabbage meets the sting of wine vinegar. Yet I rarely get round to using a red cabbage till its outer skin is black and its once-tempting crunch has softened to a dull thud. This vegetable's keeping-qualities are its downfall. Put it into the same use-me-quick category as spinach or sorrel and it would be the star of any table."

Nigel Slater

This is for my sister, who, like me, has a green-fingered friend who from time to time gives her the surplus bounty of his garden - in this case red cabbage. She was pondering on what to do with it, so I had a look.

If like Nigel Slater you have kept it too long - and he is so right about cabbage isn't he? Then you can still use it. I really like cabbage of all kinds, but you always have more than you need, and because it keeps so well in the fridge it is generally past its best when you get to it. But even then never fear - you can always make sauerkraut. I dedicated a whole post to sauerkraut in recent times, and gave the link for Donna Hay's Beetroot, Red Cabbage and caraway sauerkraut which I did make although I'm not sure it worked so well. It tastes fine, but it didn't bubble like it should, and I don't think it really tastes like sauerkraut. Maybe it was the beetroot. Tom Hunt of the Guardian had a rather simpler Sauerkraut recipe, which would probably be better. This is the one shown above.

But sauerkraut takes a few days to make, so it's not an instant solution to a surplus of red cabbage is it? Bear it in mind though - the same recipe will work for ordinary cabbage too. And if you've kept your cabbage too long - go for it.

No the classic thing to do with red cabbage is to braise it - stew it long and slow with sweet and sour things like apples, chestnuts, vinegar and onions.

"The point is simply to soften the cabbage's 'cabbaginess' with a mixture of sweet and sharp flavours." Nigel Slater

And because it's a classic, Felicity Cloake does her thing, and I have to say that her version looks pretty tempting.

Yotam Ottolenghi, also has a fancier version (of course) - Braised red cabbage with sherry, prunes and orange, but alas I can find no picture. This is one of those dishes that you can make your own. Start with somebody's recipe, try another one or two, and then create your own - picking and choosing from the extra things that people addto the basic cabbage. You can also turn what is essential a side dish to accompany something else, into a main dish, with the addition of ham, sausage, pork - well whatever you fancy really - but probably something fairly rich - duck, gamey things. Though when I think about it, it would probably go well with chicken too. Maybe even fish like salmon.

Delia has two different side dishes which are quite different in that instead of a soft, oozy mix of ingredients you preserve the crunch. They are: Quick stir-fried red cabbage with apples and Spiced sautéed red cabbage with cranberries.

Again - make this your own. Learn the method and then use your own ingredients.

Then you can roast it - yes roast it - which would be different. This is from Donna Hay - Prune stuffed crispy pork with roasted red cabbage. In this instance the cabbage is cut into wedges rather than shredded. Or you can make an Italian soup Red cabbage, sausage and white bean soup. I think this is a traditional Italian dish but the version shown below is from Rachel Roddy.

I think we probably associate red cabbage with winter and slow-cooked comfort food kind of things. Lots of the British writers seemed to think that it was a Christmas thing - not in my day it wasn't. But of course, my sister is currently enjoying an Indian summer over there in England, and so she was going to make a slaw. I'm a bit late with doing this - a surprise bit of babysitting being the culprit, - but yes, you can also make a slaw with red cabbage. You know I have never made a slaw, which is a bit curious I guess. I must tackle the subject some time. Anyway I shall finish with this rather magnificent sounding and beautiful looking slaw from Donna Hay - queen of style in food - Red cabbage, mango and coconut slaw.