Soused red cabbage

Pickle thinly sliced red cabbage with cider vinegar, bay leaves and rosemary for a tangy side dish – perfect with lamb or duck

Prep:10 mins
Cook:5 mins
plus 2 hrs standing

Serves 4
Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 100
fat 1g
saturates 0g
carbs 20g
sugars 18g
fibre 5g
protein 2g
salt 1.3g

Ingredients

500g red cabbage (about ¼ of a large head), core removed, thinly sliced
4 tbsp sea salt
½ tsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 rosemary sprig
500ml cider vinegar
400g golden caster sugar
1 red onion, thinly sliced

Tip

To sterilise your jar

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3 and wash the jar in hot soapy water. While it’s still wet, stand it upside down on a baking tray and leave in the oven for 10 minutes.

Method

Mix together the cabbage and salt in a large bowl. Put the peppercorns, bay and rosemary on a small piece of muslin cloth and tie into a small spice bag. Crush the bag to release the flavours, then add to the red cabbage. Set aside for 1 hr, giving it a stir after 30 mins.
Meanwhile, make the sousing liquid: bring the vinegar, sugar, onion and 50ml water to the boil in a large pan. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
Remove the spice bag from the cabbage and drop it into the cooling liquid. Rinse the cabbage well under running water to remove the salt, then squeeze to get rid of the excess water. Transfer the cabbage to a large sterilised Kilner jar (see tip). Pour over the cooled sousing liquid, seal and set aside to pickle for at least 1 hr. Can be made up to 1 week in advance.