Red Cabbage

Red cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. rubra) is by far the most the most useful leaf vegetable you could have in the house over Christmas: when stored in a cool place it will hold almost indefinitely until you need it; it’s equally good eaten raw or cooked and, unlike any of its cousins, this versatile drumhead brassica not only holds well in a salad but also freezes extremely successfully when cooked - and reheats without ill effect, allowing you the convenience of having a delicious ‘green’ side dish that can be prepared well ahead and will be ready to go for any size of gathering.

It can also be pickled or fermented, using preservation methods which have recently become fashionable in restaurant kitchens along with growing interest in all things northern European, although – unlike its green and white leaved relatives – there is really no need to do this as red cabbage is such a good keeper in its natural state.

The fine specimen shown here was grown at Termonfeckin, Co Louth by Gerry Finnegan, a member of the new Oriel Food Group, an association of fine food producers from the ancient lands of Oriel in the north-east of Ireland. This group – which includes producers as diverse as Aruna Sauces (Ardee) and the raw-milk Bellingham Blue Cheese (Castlebellingham) – was among the most interesting finds at this year’s Food & Wine Christmas Show.

I bought this handsome vegetable, which weighed in at almost 2kg, for the princely sum of €2 – and they say that Irish food is expensive! We’ll get many a meal out of it in the coming weeks, both hot (in my favourite winter side dish, Red Cabbage with Apple) and cold, in robust salads such as the one below.

And here’s an interesting little aside on red cabbage that, as Michael Caine used to say, not a lot of people know: like hydrangea flowers, which vary from pink to blue depending on the soil pH, an acidic soil produces magnificently deep purple-red leaves, but they will be greener if grown on an alkaline soil.

Red cabbage changes colour in cooking too, turning a dark violet blue unless cooked with acidic ingredients such as vinegar and/or fruit which allow it to retain its attractive red colour; happily this also provides a complementary flavour combination

Red Cabbage & Apple Slaw

An infinitely adaptable recipe for use throughout the winter. The hard vegetables will hold well, so avoid including the softer-leaved ingredients if you want to keep the salad for use over a day or two. A combination of red cabbage and a green or white drumhead variety will keep well. Thinned mayonnaise also makes a good quick dressing, just add a little milk or single cream and blend to the desired consistency. A crusty, robustly-textured bread, such as sour dough, is good with this kind of salad.

Serves about 4-6

About 225g/8oz red cabbage (1/4 of a large cabbage), cored & finely sliced
2 large carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1 apple, preferably red and left skin-on, quartered and cored
25g/1oz fresh walnuts or pecans, halved
A few handfuls of crisp winter salad leaves, eg curly endive, radicchio, lambs lettuce (optional)

For the dressing:

4 tbsp natural yogurt
Juice of 1 small lemon, and finely grated zest to taste
1/2 tsp caster sugar
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the finely shredded red cabbage in a large bowl with the coarsely grated carrot in a large bowl. Slice in the apple, add a tablespoonful of the lemon juice and toss to mix. Add the walnuts or pecans, and salad leaves (if using). Toss together.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together, including seasoning to taste. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, toss well and serve.