Where can I buy a decent braised red cabbage?

[Scoutingforducks]

Hello lovely people
Long time lurker and occasional poster here!

I am looking for a ready made braised red cabbage for Christmas day, there's only me who will eat it, so needs to be smallish.

Where is the best place to buy it from?
We only have M&S, Tesco and Aldi near us, so the choice is limited, it also needs to be coeliac friendly and preferably without nutmeg (M&S swede and carrot was laced with it last year and very unpleasant)

Any suggestions greatly recieved because it wouldn't be Christmas without it.

TIA.

Braised cabbage is so easy to make! Make it a couple of days ahead and reheat on the day.

We like Tesco finest they also do frozen but that was too much, berry for me. Get the fresh

Do you have a recipe ?

You can freeze it well. I make my own but I freeze it because even using half a cabbage you end up with enough for about 8 people and its only me that likes it so I portion it out and freeze. Keeps me going for months.

Just make it yourself

There are lots of recipes online. It’s probably the simplest part of a traditional Christmas dinner

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/braised-red-cabbage

Google it, personally go for the most simple version. There’s lots of variations.

It is easy to make but even with the smallest red cabbage you can find, you would be eating it for days as one person.

Agreed with Tesco finest. Also agree that it's easy enough to make however, both times I've done it I've majorly burnt the bottom of my pan. So next year it's going to be shop bought (already made and frozen this years)

Waitrose - I picked one up yesterday from their festive food selection in the chilled meals aisle

I made it a few years ago and even halving the recipie there was too much left, hence why I want to buy some, seems a waste of money amd food for 1 person.

I shall have a look when I go in at the weekend, see what they've got. Thank you

We regularly have the normal Tesco one! Always on a 3 for 2 :)

I like the M&S one. In previous years we have bought the M&S prepped dinner and this was one of the sides. Very nice.

It IS easy to make but I promise you, you’ll buy the smallest red cabbage you can find then express surprise when you cut it and it expands into the largest quantity of shredded cabbage you’ve ever seen.

I’d go for M&S personally

I have been known to post on the neighbourhood Messenger group, pleading for people to come and relieve me of some braised red cabbage. (They came!)

Even better as DD.only eats.pigs.in blankets for Christmas Dinner.

That's what happened a few years ago, even the.Chickens refused.to eat anymore!!.

It does freeze really well. We had some from last Christmas on Sunday with a roast dinner and it was absolutely delicious still.

Obvs absolutely fine to buy it, but just as a general point it’s worth remembering that it freezes really well. We bag it up in portion sizes and then it’s on hand when we next have sausage and mash or whatever.

also if you’re making it, you can use the microwave to save time but I’ve always found the most delicious red cabbage comes from cooking it slowly in the oven (ideally when it’s on anway to eg cook a casserole)

You can also freeze it in single portions. I make mine in the slow cooker.

If you make it yourself either use the whole cabbage and freeze it down in individual portions to have when you fancy, or use 1/4 of a small cabbage, and use the rest for other things like coleslaw? I love bbc for recipes and if you type in red cabbage it will give you lots of recipes for other cabbage based recipes.

As others have said, you can freeze it. However, at its peak freshness, cabbage is also a fabulous base for a salad. Or use leaves to scoop up hummus or other dips - healthier and tastier than bread. Once it’s no longer super fresh you can braise it with bacon.

Just in case I haven’t made myself clear….. cabbage (of any colour) is a wonderful and versatile vegetable!!

Yes that small looking little red cabbage, innocently sitting there in the fridge suddenly turns into suitcases worth of shredded cabbage once put through the processor.

Its quite remarkable, then I add in onions and apple and sultanas and then you've got a massive pot that you cant get through.

Spiced Red Cabbage (from Rick Stein)

Ingredients

1 large onion, sliced

60g butter

1 red cabbage (around 750g–1kg), finely shredded

1 large Bramley apple, peeled, cored and chopped

50ml red wine vinegar

60g fresh blueberries

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

4 tbsp bramble jelly or jam, or redcurrant jelly

3 cloves

5cm cinnamon stick

1½ tsp salt

20 turns black peppermill

125ml water

Method

Sweat the onion
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and sweat the sliced onion for 5–10 minutes.

Add cabbage
Add the shredded cabbage and cook for 2 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients
Add the apple, red wine vinegar, blueberries, brown sugar, jelly/jam, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt, pepper, and water.

Cook gently
Cover with a well-fitting lid and cook until softened, about 1 hour.

After 45 minutes, check the liquid.

If it’s drying out, add a splash more water.

If there’s too much liquid, remove the lid and evaporate the excess.

Finish
Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves before serving.

I made this last year and it was delicous!