Beekeeper's Cabbage
Submitted by Big Jake
Beekeeper’s cabbage is a slow-braised red cabbage with apple, parsnip, honey, and caraway seeds brightened with raspberry vinegar. A classic British side dish, tender and sweet-tart.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
120 minREADY
130 minThis is old English country cooking at its finest.
Shredded red cabbage gets tucked into a casserole with apple, parsnip, onion, and a drizzle of honey, then braised low and slow until every strand is silky, sweet-tart, and deeply flavoured.
Caraway seeds add a warm, anise-like note while raspberry vinegar brings a fruity sharpness that keeps the sweetness honest.
Serve it alongside a Sunday roast, sausages, or roasted pork and you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.
A dollop of cold, creamy yoghurt or soured cream stirred with crushed caraway seeds on top is the finishing touch that makes this truly special.
Kitchen Tips
- Get your hands in there when mixing. Spoons just push things around, but your hands work the honey and vinegar into every shred of cabbage.
- Keep the lid tight and the buttered paper pressed directly on the surface. This traps steam and prevents the top layer from drying out during that long braise.
- Use 3 tablespoons of vinegar for sweet dessert apples, only 2 for tart cooking apples. The balance matters.
- This reheats brilliantly the next day. The flavours actually deepen overnight.
Ingredients
Directions
Cut cabbage into quarters.
Remove and discard the tough central stalk.
Shred the cabbage and put it into a large mixing bowl.
Peel and finely chop the onion and add it to the cabbage.
Cut the parsnip and apple into small pieces, peeling them first if you wish, and add them to the bowl.
Drizzle on the honey.
Add a good seasoning of salt and pepper and scant ½ teaspoon caraway seeds.
Sprinkle on the vinegar, use 3 tablespoons if the apple you are using is the dessert variety, just 2 tablespoons if it is a cooking apple.
Mix everything together well using your hands -- a little messy, but spoons are not as effective -- then pile the mixture into a buttered casserole.
Lay a sheet of thickly buttered greaseproof paper directly on top of the vegetables and cover the casserole with a well fitting lid to prevent drying out.
Cook at 300 F (150 C) gas mark 2 for about 2½ hours until the vegetables are beautifully tender, if possible stir the mixture once or twice as it cooks.
Remove the greaseproof paper and check seasoning immediately before serving.
Serve the vegetable mixture just as it is, or top at the last minute with ¼ pint cold creamy yoghurt or soured cream into which you have stirred a few bruised and lightly crushed caraway seeds.
Or hand round the bowl of flavoured cream separately, so that those who want it can help themselves.
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