Name: Sweet and sour red cabbage
Ingredients: 1 large red cabbage (or 2 smaller cabbages), quartered, cored removed, halved widthways, leaves separated (approximately 1.8kg); 200g unsalted butter; 75g dark brown sugar; 75ml pomegranate molasses; 200ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock); 1 cinnamon stick; 2 bay leaves; ½ tsp white pepper; 2 conference pears, cored, quartered and thinly sliced; 100g cashew nuts; fine sea salt

Side Easy

Serves 4, as a side

Prep 5 min

Cook 1 hr 30 min

This a rich, sweet-and-sour side for your festive table. Instead of the usual vinegar and sugar, we use pomegranate molasses for its tangy sweetness, paired with pear slices for natural sweetness and cashews for crunch. The cabbage is roasted longer than you'd expect, creating crispy layers that fold back into buttery roasting juices, building deep caramel notes and a vibrant purple colour. The key is using a high-sided tray that feels overstuffed with cabbage before roasting; too wide and it’ll dry out, too small and it’ll stew.

Ingredients

1	large red cabbage (or 2 smaller cabbages), quartered, cored removed, halved widthways, leaves separated (approximately 1.8kg)
200g	unsalted butter
75g	dark brown sugar
75ml	pomegranate molasses
200ml	chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
1	cinnamon stick
2	bay leaves
½ tsp	white pepper
2	conference pears, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
100g	cashew nuts
	fine sea salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C fan.
Place the first 8 ingredients along with 2 teaspoons of salt into a 30x23cm high sided roasting tray and mix (don’t worry about mixing everything evenly as you will mix as the cabbage cooks). Place the tray into the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the tray and using tongs, mix the cabbage well. Scatter over the pear and return the tray to the oven for 45 minutes.
Remove the tray again and mix well. Scatter the cashews over the top of the cabbage and return to the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cashews are golden brown. Remove from the oven and give everything a final mix.
Serve straight from the tray, coating everything in the sauce.