Post 136: Braised Red Cabbage with Fennel

It was friday and I was being lazy, and it was M&S dine for two for a tenner. So the trip home involved a detour. I was wanting some veggies to go with; and I saw small pots of red cabbage. My hand nearly reached out, but suddenly the madness faded - I did of course have loads of vegetables, and £2 for a little pot of cabbage was dreadful value in comparison to the whole cabbage I'd already paid for sat at home.

So, home I get and a quick google. One load of braised cabbage coming up! I didn't have quite all the ingredients, so like Badger and Barney I had to adapt improvise and overcome. The recipe started with:
- ~10 rounds of salami shredded (which should have been 2oz bacon , but I thought salty, fatty pork product - close enough). Which I cooked until some fat had come out
- 1 red cabbage, shredded which I then gave 5 minutes in the salami fat
- The recipe used cloves and just after starting I discovered I didn't have any, so I added some thinly sliced fennel at this point
- Then the liquids added in turn, each being given a little chance to simmer, before adding the next
- 3 table spoons wine vinegar
- 2/3rds glass of red wine
- 1/2 pint of chicken stock
- The was then softly bubbled along with a cinnamon stick, a couple of bay leaves and a little brown sugar. The idea was for most of the liquid to boil off.

After about an hour and a quarter there was still liquid in the bottom; but everything else was cooked - so I just served with a slotted spoon. The cabbage was nice and soft, so that had probably had long enough.

VebBoxBoy junior arrived in the kitchen and asked "What's that? - It stinks!" I liked it; it tasted to me like I wanted braised red cabbage to taste. The fennel was a dead loss though: it couldn't be tasted at all - which was quite a surprise as fennel's normally quite a strong flavour.

Given the lack of enthusiasm round the table though, the next time I fancy red cabbage, I might just take another detour to M&S.