Picked Red Cabbage

Pickled red cabbage is a delightful pickled vegetable just perfect for any festive occasion or simply enjoyed as an accompaniment with poultry, beef, cold cuts and cheese. I recommend to use a mandolin or electric food processor slicer for the cabbage, onions and apples etc as this will speed up your preparation time immensely.

30 minutes

5 minutes with 24 hr + pickle

Ingredients

1 small red cabbage

- quartered, cored and finely sliced
2 red onions

- finely sliced
Pickling Liquid
1 dried red chilli
2 juniper berries
2 allspice berries
200ml red wine vinegar
75g demerara sugar
100g pecan nuts or walnuts

- toasted and lightly chopped
1 small pack fresh dill

- chopped
3 x Granny Smith apples

- skin on, quartered, cored and thinly sliced

Instructions

Prepare vegetables:
01 Tip the cabbage and red onion into a bowl and season with 2 tsp sea salt, then toss together. Set aside for 20 mins to cure.
Make pickling liquid:
02 Meanwhile, pour 200ml water into a saucepan and add the chilli, juniper, allspice, vinegar and sugar, then bring to the boil.
Pickle vegetables:
03 Tip the cured cabbage into a colander and rinse once under cold water to remove any excess salt. Pack into a large, clean container and pour over the warmed spiced pickling liquid. Put on the lid and leave in the fridge until needed. Can be made up to a week ahead.
Assemble to serve:
04 When you are ready to serve, drain the pickling liquid from the cabbage and discard the dried chilli. Bring up to room temperature, then stir through the nuts, dill and sliced apple.
Serve:
05 Spoon salad into a large salad bowl, mix well, top with a few sprigs of fresh dill and enjoy.

Notes

I would recommend to use a food mandolin for the preparation of the red cabbage, onions and apples etc as this machine will slice them really finely. If not, use a food processor slice or a very sharp knife!