Cabbage: a prince among brassica

Greens that are more than just good for you

Beloved of Crackerjack fans and often associated with, at best, peasant stews and, at worst, crash diets with dubious side-effects, cabbage might not strike you as a vegetable with much spark.

But you would be wrong. Cabbage has a long association with magic and mystery. As well as being really incredibly good for us, cabbage has some intriguing healing properties, too.

Apparently Cato himself advised eating cabbage soaked in vinegar ahead of an evening of heavy drinking: “If you wish, at a dinner party, to drink a good deal and to dine freely, before the feast eat as much raw cabbage and vinegar as you wish, and likewise, after you have feasted, eat about five leaves,” he advised. “It will make you as if you had eaten nothing and you shall drink as much as you please.” Sounds like a more risky enterprise than a dose of milk thistle and a Berocca the morning after but if it’s good enough for Roman statesmen it’s good enough for us.

Caesar’s armies allegedly carried cabbage with them on the march to dress wounds. We imagine it doesn’t have the stick of an Elastoplast but it’s much more manly, somehow.

And indeed modern studies bear out this theory with cabbages being shown to have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Large savoy cabbage leaves have been used by many a breastfeeding mother to ease the symptoms of engorgement, by placing them in the cup of a brassiere. It’s said the effects are strengthened by putting the leaves in the fridge first, though Caesar never confirmed that to our knowledge.

If that hasn’t convinced you that cabbage is the king of the veg patch, we urge you to read Lia Leendertz’s feature on cabbage in our January issue: Today, Tomorrow, To Keep, in which she shares cabbage recipes for today’s supper, something to look forward to tomorrow and another idea for a cabbagey treat to put away. We’ve tried the sauerkraut and can confirm it is a game changer. The issue is in the shops now.

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More from the January issue…

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Recipe | Chocolate & hazelnut granola

Homemade granola is so much better than shop-bought, especially when it’s a luxurious chocolate and hazelnut one. Once made and cooled, this will keep for several weeks in an airtight container.

Serves 6

100g salted butter
200ml honey
2 tbsp cocoa powder
250g porridge oats
200g hazelnuts, blanched and roughly chopped
200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4. Melt the butter in a large pan with the honey and cocoa powder. Tip in the rest of the ingredients and mix well until everything is combined.

2 Tip the mixture onto a large baking tray, spread it out and press down lightly. Bake for 18 mins, then remove from the oven and leave to cool completely. When cool, break into chunks and store in an airtight container. Serve with yogurt and fruit.

Turn to page 38 of August's The Simple Things for more of our staple foods feature on hazelnuts from Lia Leendertz.

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Recipe | Preserved roasted peppers

When you have a glut of sweet peppers, one of the most delicious things to do with them is to roast them and preserve them in vinegar and oil. Long slow cooking brings out their sweetness, and they make a brilliant addition to mezze and an excellent pizza topping.

Makes 1 jar
8 peppers
White wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil

YOU WILL NEED
450ml Kilner jar or equivalent, sterilised

1 Preheat the grill. Put the whole peppers on a baking tray and grill, turning, until blackened all over.
2 Tip the peppers into a large bowl, cover tightly with cling film and leave to cool completely: the cling film traps the steam and helps to separate the skins from the flesh.
3 Once cool, peel away the blackened skins and discard, then open up the peppers to remove the seeds and stems. Tear the flesh into wide strips and drop it into a bowl, along with as much of the juices as you can capture, then tip everything into a sterilised jar.
4 Pour enough vinegar over the peppers to cover, and use a knife to agitate them a little and get rid of any air bubbles, then top with a small slick of olive oil. Seal the jar and transfer to the fridge. Eat within a month.

Turn to page 38 of August's The Simple Things for more of our staple foods feature on peppers from Lia Leendertz.

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View the sampler here.

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Recipe | Sweetcorn relish

With a shorter cooking time than chutney, sweetcorn relish keeps its crunch

This lovely chunky relish is particularly excellent on burgers and hotdogs – just the thing for a barbecue. Because of their short cooking time, the veg in relishes have a lovely crisp texture, but this does mean that they won’t store as long as other preserves such as chutney. Keep this in the fridge and eat within two weeks.

Sweetcorn relish

Makes 3 jars
1 onion, finely diced
Raw kernels from 3 sweetcorn cobs
1⁄2 red pepper, finely diced
1⁄2 green pepper, finely diced
1⁄2 orange pepper, finely diced
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely diced
300ml cider vinegar
125g granulated sugar

you will need:
3 sterilised jars, vinegar-resistant lids, and labels

Put all of the ingredients into a large saucepan and heat gently, stirring. When the sugar has dissolved, simmer for 15 mins, stirring every now and then to prevent it sticking and burning. When the liquid has thickened and coated the vegetables, spoon them into the sterilised jars and top each with a little of the cooking liquid. Seal and leave to cool.
 

Turn to page 38 of August's The Simple Things for more of our staple foods feature on sweetcorn from Lia Leendertz.

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View the sampler here.

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Plum cordial

Rich, fruity and jewel coloured, this makes a ridiculously pretty pink drink when diluted with fizzy water (or with a measure of gin and a splash of soda)

If you think you will get through 700ml in no time, there is no need to add the citric acid or to sterilise the bottle, as it will keep in the fridge for several weeks.

Plum cordial

Makes 700ml
1kg plums
250ml water
1 heaped tsp citric acid
600g granulated sugar per litre juice
YOU WILL NEED
A muslin or jelly bag
A funnel
A 700ml bottle and stopper, both sterilised

1 Put the plums and water into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the plums soften and start to fall away from the stones, and use a wooden spoon to squash them to help to release as much of the juices as possible.
2 Tip everything into a jelly bag- or muslin-lined colander, and leave to drip into a saucepan for a few hours or overnight. Resist squeezing, as this will cloud the juice.
3 Measure the juice into a clean saucepan and add 600g of sugar per litre, and the citric acid, if using. Put the pan over a low heat and stir until all of the sugar is dissolved. Pour into the sterilised bottle and seal. It will keep for 3–4 months, stored somewhere dark and cool.

Turn to page 42 for more of our staple foods feature on plums from Lia Leendertz.

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Green onion kimchi

This Korean condiment is made by fermenting seasonal veg with fish sauce and spices. Delicious eaten as a pickle, it’s also fantastic in a toasted cheese sandwich.

Makes 1 large jar
100g spring onions
115ml fish sauce
235ml water
2 tbsp rice flour
4 tbsp cayenne or Korean chilli powder
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp minced ginger

1 Into a large bowl place the spring onions and fish sauce, and mix thoroughly; leave it all to sit
for an hour.
2 Put the water and rice flour into a small saucepan and heat, stirring, until it starts to boil. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.
3 When the mixture has cooled, add the cayenne or chilli powder, sugar, sesame seeds, garlic and ginger. Pour this over the spring onions and then use your hands (gloves are advised!) to make sure each onion is coated in the mixture.
4 Tie each onion into a knot and place it in a large sterilised jar, then tip over the rest of the sauce and seal. The jar should then be kept at room temperature. It will start to ferment almost immediately and can be eaten after a couple of days, but the flavour will develop over the next few weeks. Will keep in the fridge for up to three months.

Turn to page 34 for more onion recipes from Lia Leendertz.

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Turmeric pickled cauliflower & chilli

Cauliflower makes a good crunchy pickle with a touch of heat – just the thing to go with cheese and crackers

Makes 2 jars
1 head cauliflower
4 chilli peppers
400ml distilled vinegar
400ml water
2 tbsp granulated sugar
11⁄2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp coriander seeds

1 Break the cauliflower into florets, halving or quartering the larger ones so that each is bite sized. Slice the chillies in half and scoop out and discard the seeds (unless you want a very fiery pickle, in which case leave them). Pack these into sterilised jars.
2 In a pan gently heat the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and spices until the sugar has dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer for 5 mins.
3 Pour the hot liquid over the veg, making sure they’re completely covered. Seal and store in a cool, dark place.

Cook’s note: You can eat this after a week, but the flavours will have more chance to mellow and develop if you wait for a month or longer. Will store, sealed, for at least a year.

Turn to page 42 for more cauliflower recipes from Lia Leendertz.

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View the sampler here.

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