This piquant gut-friendly quick pickled red cabbage is the perfect accompaniment to so many dishes. Its sharp, tangy flavour contrasts well with the richness of meat or cheese. This recipe makes the ideal side-dish on Boxing Day at Christmas. Not only bringing a beautiful jewelled colour to the table, but also it’s got so many health benefit it can help counteract our slight indulgences at the Festive time. It’s all about the balance right?!
Dipping your toe in the fermentation water
This quick-pickled red cabbage recipe doesn’t claim to be Sauerkraut, by any stretch of the imagination. However, the longer you leave it in the fridge, the more it will slowly ferment. Of course, if you wish to speed up the process, you can take a more traditional fermenting route and leave this mixture outside of the fridge at room temperature. It will take on a more sour taste, but in turn it will be more gut-friendly.
Flavouring your pickled red cabbage
I have flavoured this version with bay, caraway seeds, and allspice – for an added Wintery Christmas flavour. But it’s great to experiment and add in whatever takes your fancy. You can definitely spice it up with chilli flakes, or add in warming notes with cumin seeds.
What can I serve this with?
You can serve this pickled red cabbage with a multitude of things. Some examples of dishes could include:
- Lamb koftas
- Pulled-pork tacos
- Houmous and halloumi wraps
- Part of a Boxing Day feast with cold meats and cheeses
Stored in a sealed jar, submerged in the liquid, the red cabbage pickle will last for a month or even more.
You can try different flavour combinations with this recipe. Other spices to caraway that would work well include: cumin seeds, mustard seeds, allspice, chilli flakes.
Gut-Friendly Quick Pickled Red Cabbage
Equipment
- 1 sterilised medium jam jar
Ingredients
- 1/4 red cabbage thinly shredded
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove small
- 60 ml apple cider vinegar
- 60 ml water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
- 1/2 tsp allspice
Instructions
- Very thinly shred the red cabbage – I CAREFULLY use a mandolin for this (with a guard) as I find it the quickest and simplest way to cut the cabbage very finely.
- Thinly slice the shallot, crush the clove of garlic, and place together with the sliced cabbage in a medium bowl. Add to this your bay leaf, caraway seeds and allspice (or whatever spices you wish to add – see note below).
- Put the vinegar, water, sugar and salt into a small non-stick saucepan and gently simmer until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
- Pour over the cabbage mix, stir well, and then decant into your jam jar – packing everything down into the jar to ensure the cabbage is submerged. Allow to cool at room temperature. Seal, and chill in the fridge for at least an hour or overnight.
Notes
- You can serve this pickled cabbage with a multitude of things. Lamb koftas, pulled-pork tacos, halloumi and houmous wraps… the list is very extensive.
- You can try different flavour combinations with this recipe. Other spices to caraway that would work well include: cumin seeds, mustard seeds, allspice, chilli flakes.
- Ensure the cabbage is pushed down well in the jar and covered in the liquid, and it should keep for about a month in the fridge.
