We simply couldn’t imagine our Christmas dinner plate without any red cabbage on it! But there’s certainly more than one way to cook it! Having tried numerous versions of braised cabbage, we have decided to do something slightly different this year. We present to you our Balsamic-Glazed Red Cabbage Steaks, boasting a perfect sweet-savoury combination, crispy sides and elegant presentation that will make your Christmas plates look amazing!
To start with, preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and brush it with a little olive oil. Core your red cabbage and cut into slices. They should be around 1.5cm thick. Place them onto a baking tray and stud with 3 cloves each.
Then prepare your glaze. In a bowl, mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, apple sauce, crushed garlic, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture over your cabbage stakes. Then place in the oven for 20 minutes.
The tricky bit is to turn them over after 20 minutes of roasting. For this, I use the largest spatula I have and flip them over slowly and carefully, rather in one quick motion. Whatever you do, try and keep them intact. You may choose to remove the cloves before you flip them and place them on top. This makes it easier to get rid of them once cooked without having to turn the steaks over again. Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes. The outer leaves of the cabbage should be crispy and brown (our favourite part) and cabbage steaks quite soft but not mushy.
If you choose to make these for your Christmas dinner, let us know what you think. We certainly think they’re amazing! In the words of Monty Don: ‘Nothing shouts Christmas like red cabbage’!
Extremely simple to make, these Balsamic-Glazed Red Cabbage Steaks can be cooked in the same oven and temperature as our Rosemary-Scented Christmas Pommes Anna.
Here are some other Christmas recipes that we absolutely love:
- Sourdough Stollen – Traditional German Christmas Bread
- Rosemary-Scented Christmas Pommes Anna
- Our Luxurious Christmas Breakfast
Red Cabbage Steaks
Ingredients
- 1/2 red cabbage cut into 4 slices
- 50 ml olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp runny honey
- 1 tsp apple sauce
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 12 cloves
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and lightly brush it with olive oil. Arrange the slices of cabbage on a baking tray.
- Make a glaze by mixing together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, apple sauce, crushed garlic, cinnamon and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stud each slice with 3 cloves and spoon the glaze all over.
- Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the cloves and flip the cabbages over with a large spatula, taking extra care to keep the steaks intact (which can be tricky). Place the cloves on top of the steaks and roast for another 15-20 minutes.
- Remove the cloves and serve as a delicious side dish.
