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Christmas ready in November’s kitchen!

It’s never too early to start the preparations for Christmas! I’m talking about in the kitchen of course – I’m the first one to moan about the shops when they start getting the Christmas decorations in in the middle of September!

We always have braised red cabbage with our Christmas meal and I make mine well ahead in my slow cooker as it’s so easy and it prefers long slow cooking to blend all the flavours together. The hints of fruit and spices work really well with turkey but as I make a big batch we can enjoy it with bangers and mash too!

 Slow cooker Christmas red cabbage

Serves 6-8

1 red cabbage (about 750g)

2 Bramley apples (about 400g), peeled, cored and finely chopped

50g  butter

1 large onion, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

2-3 tbspns  light soft brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like this to be)

½ tspn each of cinnamon and nutmeg

150g of fresh cranberries (optional)

Salt and pepper

3 tbspns red wine vinegar (try replacing one spoonful with raspberry vinegar)

2 tbspns of cranberry jelly or sauce

  • Chop the cabbage into quarters, remove the tough outer leaves then cut out the hard, woody stalk. Shred as finely as you can and put to one side.
  • Peel, core and finely dice the Bramley apples and peel and finely slice the onions.
  • Layer up the cabbage, apples and onions in your slow cooker bowl (or casserole) adding in some of the butter, sugar, spices, S&P and cranberries into the layers. Aim for at least two layers of each preferably three – it will be really full!
  • Pour the vinegar over the top then put the lid on.
  • Cook on low for a good 4-5 hours, stirring everything together once in the middle of cooking time and again after about 4 hours
  • If you’re doing this in the oven then cover your casserole with a tight fitting lid and cook slowly in the oven 160C(fan 140)/325F/gas3 for about two hours. Stir a good couple of times during cooking.
  • The red cabbage and onions will be moist and completely tender and the apple will have absorbed into the vegetables.
  • Stir through the cranberry jelly and serve.

If you are making this ahead then cool and freeze. Thaw out overnight and microwave for about 5 minutes until piping hot or pop into a medium oven to heat through