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Braised red cabbage with candied pumpkin seeds

Braised cabbage for web

This fits into the fresh and bright category of Christmas sides. It is always on my Christmas table and often ends up as the thing I (surprisingly) enjoy the most.

I use a mixture of sherry and red wine vinegar but you could use one or the other. I use lemon instead of the more traditional orange here but you could easily swap.

Christmas gives cinnamon a free pass into almost every dish which I have mixed opinions about, if you like cinnamon in your red cabbage add a stick whilst it’s cooking and make sure you take it out as it cools.

Make ahead, storage and reheating

The cabbage can be made all the way to the end (without topping with the pumpkin seeds) and can be stored for up to a week in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer.

To reheat, defrost at room temperature if frozen and then reheat on medium low in a pan until piping hot adding more water if it looks dry.

Leftovers

This is great in a leftovers sandwich it can also be used in my red cabbage soup the recipe is here.

Duration
1hr +
Serves
6-8
Braised cabbage for web

Ingredients

For the cabbage

  • 2 tablespoons or rapeseed or olive oil
  • 2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 large red cabbage (about total 1kg), halved and cut into thin ribbons
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • 2 apples, grated
  • 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • Juice and peel of a lemon
  • 2 knobs of butter

For the pumpkin seed crunch

  • 100g of pumpkin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons of honey or maple
  • sea salt

  1. Prepare your cabbage

    Use a sharp knife to shred 1 large red cabbage as thinly as you can.

  2. Sweat the onions

    In a large heavy bottomed pan with a lid, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook 2 peeled and thinly sliced red onions for 10 minutes until soft and sweet.

  3. Add the cabbage and apple

    Stir in the shredded cabbage, two grated apples, and a good pinch of salt. Next add a few sprigs of thyme, 3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar and 3 of red wine vinegar and stir. Peel the zest from the lemon in large strips using a speed peeler and add these to the pan. Add the two knobs of butter too. Put the lid on and cook for 25-40 minutes until the cabbage is a deep dark purple and the vinegar has lost its punch. How long you cook it for will depend on how soft you like your cabbage. I think the sweet spot is about 25 minutes. Taste the cabbage, if it needs freshing up add some lemon juice bit by bit until it tastes good to you. I usually add the juice of the whole lemon but you might like less.



  4. Make the pumpkin seed crunch

    Toast the 100g pumpkin seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until they start to pop and are golden brown. Whilst they are still hot, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of the honey or maple syrup, add a pinch of salt and transfer to a plate to cool.

  5. Serve

    Serve with the candied pumpkin seeds sprinkled over.

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