Red cabbage is like beetroot, and not just because it's purple. It's the victim of a swath of cultural prejudice – and I suspect there is quite a big overlap with the anti-beetroot brigade. It seems some shoppers and cooks are just plain purplist…
Just as with beetroot, the blame lies largely with a misguided condiment in which someone's beengung ho with the malt vinegar. For decades, the red cabbage we consumed was mainly brutally pickled. And, of course, slowly braised in wine and spice, often with apple or raisins, or both (and often with far too much sugar and cinnamon). Red cabbage cooked in this way remains a notorious winter staple, loved and loathed in equal measure. And it has somehow neverquite graduated to the high table of the Christmas feast proper. Imagine being even less popular than sprouts.
We need to rethink this hearty, tightly packed cannonball of the brassica family. I think it should be given a far greater airing throughout the autumn and winter, when its dramatic colour is particularly welcome alongside the season's earthy roots. And, in my view, it should mostly be eaten raw, or at most very quickly cooked – try stir-frying rather than steaming, so that it retains its bite and its tang.
Red cabbage's fresh, raw crunch is a great addition to salads (see today's recipe), though I quite understand that some of you may have been put off by its appearance in mediocre coleslaws dressed in gloopy, cheap mayonnaise, its pigment seeping into the dressing to create a rather unappealing mess. Much better to slice the leaves very finely and dress them in a garlicky, mustardy vinaigrette, perhaps with a good handful of parsley to provide a dramatic and delicious contrast. Add grated carrot, and some shredded white cabbage, too, for a much fresher version of the coleslaw. Andsprinkle with a few pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds, if you like. But steer clear of the mayo.
On the stir-fry theme, try it shredded and quickly fried in olive oil (or goose fat) with some garlic and peeled, crumbled cooked chestnuts. Summer and early autumn varieties can be thrown into any stir-fry – a nice simple one could include batons of carrot (almost matchsticks), spring onions and little florets of cauliflower or broccoli.
Don't abandon the braise option altogether, though. Just get it right. For me, that means holding back abit on the sweet ingredients and including something salty to contrast the sweet and sour. Hence the bacon in today's version, which also helps make a meal of it. And set aside some time: it takes at least an hour. That said, once you've got it simmering in the pan, this dish will require very little intervention from you, bar the odd stir and aslosh of water, stock or wine if it looks a bit dry. Cooked in this way, it's a supper in itself with abaked spud or some creamy mash. Or use lardons of streaky bacon instead of awhole piece, and the dish becomes an excellent piquant contrast to all kinds of game, venison, goose, duck, rabbit and even roast pork or sausages. Forstrong game, tweak the recipe by adding a few juniper berries at the start of cooking; for pork, goose and duck, half a teaspoon of caraway seeds works wonders.
One thing you should bear in mind when cooking red cabbage is that it reacts dramatically to even slightly hard water, the alkaline turning your beautiful and carefully shredded veg to a murky, unappetising navy blue. This is why recipes invariably include an acidic ingredient, in the form of citrus, vinegar or wine, to preserve its rich, purple shade.
If you fancy growing your own next year, they're relatively undemanding. At River Cottage we have had success with Marner Early Red, a good summer variety that, ifsown from January to March, is ready for harvesting between July and August – perfect for summer salads; sow Marner Storing Red between February and April, for harvesting in October to November; and Red Drumhead between March and July, for harvesting between August and November. All you really need to do then is ensure that the plants don't dry out, and keep an eye out for slugs and caterpillars, though they seem to be less attracted to red varieties than green ones. Perhaps they had some pickled red cabbage when they were little.
Red cabbage, orange and date salad
A pretty and refreshing winter salad with a wonderful combination of flavours and textures. Serves two.
1 orange
¼ small red cabbage, core removed and finely shredded
1 parsnip, peeled and grated
1 small handful dates, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves
Cut the top and bottom off the orange and stand it on one of the cut ends on a chopping board. Work your way around it, cutting off the skin, pith and membrane, then cut out the segments. Squeeze the juice from the segmented orange into a small bowl.
Arrange the cabbage on a large plate, or two smaller plates, along with the orange segments, parsnip and dates. Trickle over the reserved juice and olive oil, then sprinkle on the thyme leaves. Serve at once.
Red cabbage braised with bacon
Bacon is often used to flavour braised cabbage, but keeping theslab whole makes it a proper accompaniment, rather than simply a seasoning. Serves three to four.
2 tbsp olive oil
500-600g slab of back bacon, or apiece of gammon
½ medium red cabbage, core removed and finely shredded
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 large or 2 small onions, finely diced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
175ml red wine
2 tsp light muscovado sugar
25g unsalted butter
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or casserole, warm the olive oil over a medium heat and brown the bacon on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat slightly, add the cabbage, garlic, onions and thyme, and sauté gently, stirring, until the cabbage softens slightly, about five minutes. Add thewine, sugar and a wine glass of water, return the bacon to the pan, nestling it down into the vegetables, put on the lid and simmer very gently for an hour to an hour and a half, adding a little more water if it begins to look at all dry. To finish, stir in thebutter, mustard and parsley. Cutthe bacon into thick slices and serve with the red cabbage.
Red cabbage and apple soup
70g unsalted butter or goose fat
1 large onion, finely diced
1½ tsp caraway seeds
2 apples – cox's or braeburns work very well here
300g finely shredded red cabbage
1 litre vegetable, chicken or beefstock
300ml red wine
2 tbsp apple balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
1 small bunch of dill, leaves chopped, with some fronds reservedfor garnishing
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small handful walnut halves
3-4 tbsp sour cream or thick yoghurt
Melt 40g of butter or goose fat in alarge, heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the onion and sweat until soft and translucent, stirring from time to time, about 15 minutes. Add the caraway seeds and stir for a minute.
Peel and core the apples, and slice them thickly. Raise the temperature slightly, add the apples and cabbage to the onions and fry for a further five minutes, until the cabbage begins to soften. Raise the heat; pour in the stock, wine, vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer until the cabbage is very tender – about 20 minutes longer. Stir in most of the dill and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Warm the rest of the butter or goose fat in a frying pan and sautéthe walnuts until just golden and fragrant.
Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and top each serving with a few walnut halves, a spoonful of sour cream oryoghurt and a scattering of dill fronds.
