Christmas Tips pt4

Christmas is almost upon us and any last minute shopping for presents, food & drink for the festivities will be a frantic head long dash from one shop to another to get the last of the items that you have planned for Christmas. Presents for the kids, toiletries for the Aunts and Uncles etc and a whole host of unplanned goodies that catch your eye when shopping because they are a fantastic bargain.




If your still looking for any last minute vegetable ideas for Christmas lunch why not think about buying some red cabbage. Red cabbage besides being very colourful to the eye is seasonal and reasonably cheap compared to other vegetables at this time of year. If you just boil it and add seasoning and serve to your guests it might be a bit of let down. So here is a little tip for you on a nice way to serve the cabbage.

Prepare and slice as you would for white cabbage. Place in a suitable container/pan and soak in orange juice for a least a couple of hours before cooking.
When it comes to cooking drain the cabbage and put the juice to one side. Melt some butter in a pan and add brown sugar (dark if you have it) Add a little red wine vinegar if you have it (white/malt vinegar will do) and allow the mix to infuse together for 5 minutes.

When the mix is nice and hot add your red cabbage and sweat the cabbage for about 5-10 minutes (turn the cabbage as you go) After sweating the cabbage add the orange juice you drained earlier. Cook until still crisp to bite and add raisins or sultanas. You can add walnuts for a crunchy taste and or cooked cranberries (cranberry jelly/sauce) to the mix for a really sweet taste. Season with salt and fresh crushed pepper finish cooking and serve. A little red wine could be added to the orange juice when soaking the cabbage before cooking as an alternative.

When the meal is finished and if you have any red cabbage left over(not to overcooked) then allow to cool. Slice some onions and mix with the cabbage, place in suitable sized container or jar with lid and fill with malt vinegar. You can add gherkins if you have got them and leave to soak. The quasi pickled cabbage mix can then be served with any savoury foods you might have prepared for the buffet on Boxing Day.

Nothing should be wasted at Christmas and this way you have a different option for the veg, the red cabbage goes well with roast Turkey or Goose and you have a pickled accompaniment to go with the inevitable cold buffet that we all do to use up the masses of turkey/goose that is left over.

Still looking for another green vegetable for the meal. Try Mange Tout ( eat all as the french would say) Perhaps a little expensive but quick and easy to use. Shops looking to clear their shelves might be selling of cheaply and you might get a good price on them. Mange Tout is very colourful, no waste and most important of all very economical on time during service. Pan fry in melted butter, lemon juice and fresh cracked black pepper and serve in under 5 minutes. It can be the last job you do before you sit down.

Another alternative would be to finely slice the Mange Tout before hand, with a hot saute pan reduce some double cream/whipping cream down with a little lemon juice, add a hint of horseradish sauce or Dijon seed mustard, add the sliced Mange Tout, cook for 1 minute at the most, season with paprika/or hint of chili powder and fresh milled black pepper and serve.

Bye for now and more on the way.