recipes

This is not only one of the most popular winter vegetables in Scandinavia, but is the one which is usually served at Christmas time. It goes particularly well with roast duck, goose or game and also with pork dishes and sausages.

Ingredients

1 medium-sized red cabbage (approximately 2 – 3 lbs)
2 medium sized cooking apples
1 oz butter
6 – 8 tablespoons wine vinegar
6 – 8 tablespoons water
salt
pepper
4 tablespoons redcurrant jelly
sugar to taste (approximately 1 – 2 tablespoons)

Method

Remove and discard the outer coarse leaves of the cabbage. Cut in half, remove the stalk and shred the cabbage very finely. Peel, core and grate the apples. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat, add the cabbage and apples and toss for 5 minutes, taking care not to scorch. Add the vinegar, water, salt and pepper to taste. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat, until the cabbage is tender. Add red-currant jelly and sugar to taste. The cabbage should be sweet-sour. Bring to the boil again and serve.

Red cabbage actually improves if kept for a day before serving: just reheat it slowly, stirring from time to time. The dish is delicious eaten cold as a garnish for open sandwiches.

The colour of the cooked cabbage may be improved by adding a little juice from pickled beetroots. Some caraway seeds may be added to the dish whilst it is cooking.