Braised Red Cabbage for the Whole Family (sugar free)

Most red cabbage recipes contain quite a lot of sugar, although they are lovely and tasty, I wanted to see if I could make a recipe without using added sugar.  The results, if I do say so myself, are pretty good and a great idea for kids.

Braised Red Cabbage - serves around 3-4

Ingredients

1/2 a small onion
15g, 1/2 ounce of butter
1 apple, cored and diced
300g, 10.5oz Red cabbage, cored and finely sliced
50g, just under 2oz Chopped dates
2 tbsp Wine, cider or balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp Mixed spice (apple pie spice)
Juice of one satsuma (or half an orange)
4 tbsp water
Freshly ground pepper

Method

Saute the onion gently in the butter until softened for a good 5 mins or so.  Add the remaining ingredients apart from the pepper, put on a high heat until the liquid is bubbling then put on a very low heat, covered, stirring frequently for 30-45 minutes or until everything is cooked.  Add pepper to taste.

This can be put in the fridge and reheated when needed.

I have to admit my son decided this looked a bit funny and turned it down without even trying.  I hate it when that happens.  To be fair though he did eat lots of haggis, potatoes and peas.  It was his first time with haggis.  I don't go in for the traditional accompaniments of mashed potatoes and mashed swede because ironically it just feels like babyfood to me.  He loved his haggis though.  For all of you who say "bleurgh", try it, it's surprisingly delicious and full of iron and fibre.  The only thing to watch out for is it is a bit high in salt so keep an eye on the salt intake over the whole day.

So there you go, haggis is officially better than red cabbage.  Although I love this recipe, I'm not sure he's wrong!

Ah, just reflecting on the nature of life and the challenges it throws you.  I had an awful weekend after having some more bad news on Friday.  I just have to thank all the friends and colleagues I have who are helping and supporting me, if you're reading, you know who you are and how much I wouldn't have been able to survive without your professional and friendship support.  It means the world.

I've linked up this lovely autumnal dish to crumbs and chaos here.