How to Cook Red Cabbage

Red cabbage, or any form of cabbage, is often thought of as being tasteless, unappetising or worse. This is, for more than any other reason, because cabbage is all too often cooked in an inappropriate fashion or to excess. This article will look at how to cook red cabbage with a variety of different ingredients to ensure both that it retains its nutritional value and that it forms a tasty component part of a meal.

Traditionally, the most common way of cooking cabbage is to boil it in water. This has the double drawback, however, of both removing much of the taste and nutritional value from the cabbage, as well as making it prone to being overcooked, limp and soggy.

This incredibly simple—and quicker—way of cooking red cabbage effectively sautes it in olive oil, and the added ingredients improve the flavour many times over. This recipe serves two people.

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a red cabbage, core removed, sliced
• 1 pear (moderately soft), core removed, sliced
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. The olive oil should be gently heated in a wide-bottomed pan.
2. The red cabbage, pear and nutmeg are then added and cooked over a fairly high heat, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon or spatula, for 7 to 8 minutes.
3. The cabbage should then be seasoned to taste.

I served this red cabbage and pear with casseroled shoulder of pork and garlic and herb mashed potatoes, as pictured above.

This red cabbage, onion and garlic is served with a Melton Mowbray pork pie, a hard-boiled egg, salad and pickled beetroot, as seen above. The red cabbage is in this instance cooked exactly the same way as above. However, this time it's accompanied by white onion and garlic.

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a red cabbage, core removed, sliced
• 1 small white onion, sliced
• 1 large clove of garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook in the same way as described in the previous recipe.

This combination can make in itself a delicious and nutritious lunch.

Ingredients

• 1/4 of a red cabbage, core removed, sliced
• 1 small white onion, sliced
• bacon strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pepper to taste

Instructions

1. The first step is to cook the bacon by grilling it. It should then be cut into strips and set aside while the red cabbage and onion is sauteed in the fashion already described.
2. The bacon strips should be added to the red cabbage and onion for the last couple of minutes' cooking time, simply to heat through.
3. Note that although black pepper should be added to this dish, enough salt is likely to be obtained from the bacon to eliminate the need for the addition of any more.