Cabbage casserole

The idea of cabbage in a casserole may seem a little strange, but I promise you this is one of those hearty family meals that takes the sting out of a cold winter’s night.

Easy to prepare and relatively quick to cook, the dish can be prepared ahead and kept in the fridge for reheating later. It also freezes very well.

What goes with cabbage? Pork of course, so assemble the following:

500 grms minced pork
1 finely chopped onion
Half a cabbage, shredded
120 mls tomato paste
100 mls apple juice
Half tsp ground mace, cinnamon or cloves.
Salt & black pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 180C

Using a dry, heavy-based skillet, cook the pork and onion together until the meat begins to brown and release its fat. This will take about five minutes and only needs occasional stirring.

Pour off as much of the fat as you can and add the tomato paste, apple juice and seasonings. Stir well and heat through.

Put a layer of cabbage in a casserole dish, add half the meat mixture, make another layer of cabbage and a further layer of meat. Cover and cook in the oven for 35 minutes.

You could also use a small loaf tin for this by first lining it with foil and leaving sufficient overlap to cover the meat for cooking.

I would serve this with sweet potato mash and something like plain green or broad beans.

print this page