Walking through the farmers market stalls, I saw some beautiful purple cabbages. For some reason, I rarely buy them, but this time, the bright purple colour really caught my eye!
It's incredible how many recipes I managed to do with just one cabbage (less than £2!).
Nutrition values
Purple cabbage, also referred to as red cabbage, belongs to the Brassica genus of plants. It tastes similar to green cabbage. However, the purple variety is richer in beneficial plant compounds that have been linked to health benefits, such as stronger bones and a healthier heart. (Healthline)
Benefits:
It is rich in nutrients, in particular: fiber and vitamins A, C, K, and B6. It also contains small amounts of other vitamins and minerals (iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, and zinc.)
Purple cabbage is a great source of antioxidants and it protects against cells damage.
It helps fight inflammation and reduce accompanying symptoms, such as pain, swelling, and discomfort.
It's easy to add to your diet as it's super versatile. You can eat it raw or cooked, and it’s well suited to accompany a variety of dishes.
Purple Cabbage Soup
Ingredients:
2 small potatoes
half cabbage
2 stock cubes
1 small red onion
olive oil
parsley
Method:
Boil cabbage in a pot with 1 tsp of vinegar (this is essential to maintain the purple colour of the cabbage). Save the water as we'll use it for the recipe below!
Boil potatoes and onion separately until soft and easy to smash. I use a pressure cooker, generally takes me 12 minutes for a small-medium potato.
Boil 1 litre of water and add stock cube.
When everything is ready, either place everything in a food processor, or pour everything in one pot and blend with a hand mixer.
You should get a smooth purple cream.
Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley and drizzle olive oil and pepper if you like it.
You can also make some bread croutons or roast little cubes of potatoes to add on top to garnish.
Purple Rice
This is the most fun dish I've ever made, and it's SO simple.
Use the water where you cooked the purple cabbage in to boil rice as recommended on the pack (usually 12-15 minutes). It will turn completely purple and it's so nice to look at.
You can add in mixed sautéed vegetables of your choice.
Sautéed purple cabbage
With the remaining cabbage you can sauté it in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of water, soy sauce or balsamic vinegar and eat as a side.
Eat it raw
If instead you want something fresher and quicker, you can chop your cabbage, dress with olive oil, chopped apples, sunflower seeds and balsamic vinegar.
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