a picture of an oval white china dish of shredded, braised red cabbage

Traditional Braised Red Cabbage with Apples

2 hours - 2 hours 30 minutes

Serves 10-12. Scroll down to Ask Lindsey to see questions she has answered on this recipe

Vegetarian

This recipe is from Delia's Happy Christmas.

This is a recipe I have been cooking for years.

It's great because it can be made a day or two before and gently reheated with no last-minute bother. It is a perfect accompaniment to venison, goose or pork (and if you have any left over it does wonders for bangers and mash).

The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to prepare garlic in our video. Just click the image to play.

Got a question on Delia's recipes? Ask Lindsey

Ask a Question

Braised red cabbage

Asked by: Rleturner

I don’t have a casserole dish but could I make the braised red cabbage in my slow cooker instead?

Answered by Lindsey: Yes you can.

Reheating red cabbage

Asked by: Mckernon

I’ve made delias braised red cabbage & it says it freezes well. I’ve done this ready for Christmas Day. How should I defrost and reheat it please?

Answered by Lindsey: Hello, I’d take it out of the freezer the morning before and put it in the fridge. Then of the day you can re-heat it several ways. In a buttered ovenproof dish, covered with foil, in the oven at 180C (conventional heat) for about 30 minutes. In a saucepan, over a medium heat, covered with a lid for about 20 - 30 minutes (stirring occasionally). Or in a dish, covered with a suitable lid or film, in a microwave for about 3 minutes (stirring half way through). Kind regards Lindsey

Not so red cabbage

Asked by: Susanmacmillan

My Red cabbage and apple doesn’t like like your lovely vibrant red but instead washed out and grey. It was a super fresh red cabbage and followed the recipe exactly! I’ve frozen it for Xmas day. Thanks Susan

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Susan, I think it may be the amount of vinegar as it’s the vinegar that turns it form purple to red.. Delia uses old fashioned tablespoons which measure 20 mls. So, for 1K of cabbage we add 60mls of vinegar. Kind regards Lindsey

Method

First discard the tough outer leaves of the cabbage, cut it into quarters and remove the hard stalk.

Then shred the rest of the cabbage finely, using your sharpest knife (although you can shred it in a food processor, I prefer to do it by hand: it doesn't come out so uniform). Next, in a fairly large casserole, arrange a layer of shredded cabbage seasoned with salt and pepper, then a layer of chopped onions and apples with a sprinkling of garlic, spices and sugar. Continue with these alternate layers until everything is in. Now pour in the wine vinegar, lastly add dots of butter on the top.

Put a tight lid on the casserole and let it cook very slowly in the oven for 2-2½ hours, stirring everything around once or twice during the cooking. Red cabbage, once cooked, will keep warm without coming to any harm, and it will also re-heat very successfully. And, yes, it does freeze well so, all in all, it's a real winner of a recipe.