Braised Red Cabbage

Preheat the oven to 100 degrees C or use a slow cooker or the bottom oven of an Aga.

You will need a large casserole pan with a lid.

Add the wine to the casserole and bring to the boil and reduce by half so that the alcohol evaporates and the juice left is slightly thickened.  Add the butter and stir until melted then set aside. If using the fruit juice, simply heat until just simmering then add the butter and set aside.

Prepare the cabbage, onions and pomegranate. I use the slicing attachment of the food processor but everything can be sliced by hand.

Take the tough outer leaves and the white core from the cabbage then slice thinly. Peel and slice the red onion. I cut the pomegranate in half over the pan to make sure I catch the juice then turned each half inside out. Some seeds will pop out themselves and the others can be easily taken out by hand.

Put the sliced cabbage, onion and pomegranate seeds into the casserole pan, add the rest of the ingredients and give everything a really good stir.

Pop into the oven and braise slowly for 2.5 to 3 hours – stirring half way through. The cabbage is sufficiently cooked when the cabbage and onion is tender and everything is glossy and deep red in colour.

After the cooking time, take from the oven and taste adjusting the seasoning if necessary. You may want to add more salt or sweetness depending how you like it.

If you want to freeze this then leave to cool completely then pack into a plastic box or bags. When ready to use – thaw overnight in the fridge or in a pan in a cool place then reheat slowly, either back in the original casserole pan in the oven at 120 degrees or slow cooker.