Pickled Red Cabbage

INGREDIENTS

(About 20 portions)

1 large head of red cabbage
Handful of coarse salt
400ml red wine
275ml malt vinegar
140ml balsamic vinegar
140ml dry white wine vinegar
350g caster sugar
5 bay leaves
10 cloves
2 star anise crushed
1tsp black peppercorns
1tsp pink peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick broken
5 whole dried red chillies

METHOD

Quarter the cabbage. Use only the three or four outer layers. Cut out any large stems and shred the cabbage as finely as possible. Work the salt into the cabbage. Leave it in a colander for three hours to drain and develop a bright colour. Drain wash and dry thoroughly.

Combine the vinegars wine and sugar. Put them in a stainless steel pan and reduce by half. Don't forget to skim any scum and wipe around the edges of the pan. Add all the spices to the liquor and infuse five minutes.

Put the cabbage in a bowl and pour over the liquor to just cover.

The cabbage will be ready to eat after 24 hours but keeps and matures over a period of weeks.