Red Cabbage

[wardy]

Timely reminder for all those newbies that you MUST   grow red cabbage as it's the law!

This is my first year on the lotty and never seen a red cabbage, let alone grown one. I have just cooked my first vat of braised red cabbage ever and have brought the neighbours flocking in to see what's cooking  ;D  The smell is fantastic.  I previously would have thought red cabbage yuk  Now I've seen the light.  So all you newbies get some red cabbage seed and by Christmas you too will have pots of lovely braised red cabbage  :)

[wardy]

[grassroots]

Wardy, also very nice pickled.

[wardy]

Very lovely pickled but braised is a whole new ball game. If you're into food then braised red cabbage has to be up there with foi gras and truffles  ;D

[Delilah]

Ok then Boss - if its the law I shall obey ;)

[undercarriage plan]

Instructions Wards!! I've got loads and was going to turn it into ice cream....how did you create this???

[Mrs Ava]

mmm...fabulous raw also!

[wardy]

these red cabbages are all they're cracked up to be.  Never grown one before this summer nor eaten red cabbage raw, pickled or braised.  Lots of things to learn from this lottying lark.  One is to keep an open mind about food that you thought you might not like. I thought I'd hate red cabbage and celeriac. Am now converted to both and eat them at every opportunity.

Braised red cabbage a la Delia for Christmas dinner and boxing day dinner with lamb

We've not been able to resist the marvellous smells coming from the casserole dishes and have been picking.  Lovely  :)

[MutantHobbit]

Nah, I'm not growing red cabbage from seed, even if it is the law!  :P, :o 

I've ordered Brassica plants, amongst which is RC "Integro" if memory serves me correctly, which it seldom does. :-[  Is this cheating? ;D

Dave

[wardy]

As long as you end up with a red cabbage it don''t matter a fig  ;D

[Delilah]

Sorry Wardy I know this is the wrong thread but can't remember where it was now - have you found your tree and presumably you survived the revelation to OH that his beer vouchers are no more  ;)

[wardy]

Oh God don't remind me  :o

Husband came home after hard day.  No dinner, except red cabbage.  He saw charred remnants of his beer coupons on worktop.  Big empty expanse in window  :(  So we went straight off to B & Q and bought a small tree for half price.  Might look a tad little in window but hey.  He took his charred beer vouchers to Co-op and there was no problem as one serial number remained.  I shudder to think if it hadn't  ;D ;D

No trimmings up yet.  Maybe tomorrow  :)

[Delilah]

Thank the Lord for little trees and serial numbers :D

[Hot_Potato]

agree with Wardy and others that red cabbage is a dish 'to die for' - the smells are intoxicating and of course, it's even nicer served up the next day...here's a recipe I do on top of the stove but I've another that I do in the oven

Red cabbage with apple

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
15g butter
500g red cabbage, shredded & tough stalks discarded
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eating apples, peeled, cored & sliced
50g. sultanas

1). Cook the onion in the butter in a saucepan until soft but not coloured. Add the cabbage, sugar, vinegar, nutmeg, allspice & cloves. Stir to mix, then cover and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir occasionally while simmering, adding a little extra water, if necessary, to prevent sticking.

2). Add the apples and sultanas and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.

Cooks Tip - the flavour of this dish improves with keeping, so if you like you can make a day or two in advance and simply reheat to serve.

This particular recipe comes from Asda's monthly magazine

H.P.

[Derekthefox]

Shame on me ! I am not a newbie, but I am not growing red cabbage ... not sure why, yet more seeds to sort out ...

Derekthefox

[Mrs Ava]

I agree that it is a must.  Not only is it great in so many dishes, it looks fab at the allotment!!  Yummy with nuts also.  ;D

[the_snail]

Ya making me feel guilty for not netting mine  :-\ I grew some and the pigeons thought great hes planting cabage lets leave it for a week or two and give him a false sense of security and hope then we will go down an ravage them. Guess what! They did! My fault. You learn by your mistakes or should do anyway.

The_Snail

[wardy]

Exactly EJ  :) I've bought some calendula seed to go with the red cabbage.  I think it'll look lovely in the patch together.  Only thing I've actually planned up to yet  :)

[jennym]

Good grief Wardy, you were up early! or was it that you stayed up late??? ;D

[blight]

"hot-potatoes" recipe sounds very much like the traditional german way of cooking red cabbage.  we use less nutmeg and cloves though and use goose fat instead of butter. 15 grams is nowwhere near enough i think. make sure you use a full-flavoured sourish apple.
braised red cabbage is hard-core traditional christmas fare with game and potato-dumplings. as "hot potato" wrote, it gets better from day to day unlike cold turkey.

[Icyberjunkie]

OKay Okay I'm convinced - red cabbage will be given a go now I've room to try some more things.  Still have a worry that a third plot will end up being procured with everything planned!!   One year I will grow my own  Xmas tree ........... ::)