Christmas Recipes: Red Cabbage with Prunes (perfect with roasted goose)

We've just finished doing all the dishes after yet another Christmas party. For the second year already, K. and I have invited our respective families over for a festive Christmas meal. And instead of the traditional black pudding and sauerkraut (we've already had three traditional Christmas meals this week), we served something different this year: roast goose (sourcing and roasting courtesy of restaurant Stenhus, Tallinn*) and braised red cabbage, alongside with some lovely Estonian potatoes, creamy goose giblet gravy, and pickled pumpkin salad. (And

The recipe is from the Christmas 1998 issue of BBC Good Food magazine, but I've fiddled with it a little. You cannot really see the prunes on the photo below, but they were an excellent addition to the braised cabbage, adding a much-needed sweetness.

Hope you've all had a lovely holiday so far.

Braised Red Cabbage with Prunes
(Hautatud punane kapsas ploomidega)
Serves 10



2 Tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, halved and finely sliced
1 kg red cabbage, cut into fine shreds
250 g prunes, halved
a cup of orange juice
2 Tbsp balsamic or sherry vinegar
1-2 tsp salt
coarsely ground black pepper

Heat the oil on a large saucepan. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until it starts to soften.
Add cabbage and saute, stirring every now and then, for 7 minutes.
Add the prunes, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper.
Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer on a low heat for about 30-60 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the cabbage is cooked to your liking (I like it with a bit of bite, but it's also lovely when cooked until soft).
If the cabbage looks too dry at the end of the cooking process, add some more orange juice or water.

* One day I'll reveal why the executive chef of the best gourmet restaurant in Estonia was roasting my Christmas goose this year :)