It’s officially red cabbage season again…
Yes, it’s this time of the year again – everyone meets his friends, workmates and friends to enjoy a tasty St. Martins goose. A tradition, very well known in Austria. It was one of my favorite traditions before I turned vegetarian. This changed a lot, of course. I started falling in love with red cabbage.
Every time I got invited to a St. Martins dinner, I had a huge portion of cabbage and dumplings. The most popular way of preparation is, to be fair, not the healthiest option: The red cabbage is slowly cooked with red wine, cinnamon, sugar and a huge portion of butter. If you combine it with the delicious dumplings, it really turns into a high calorie meal.
Red cabbage – a vegetable with benefits…
One of the main reasons why red cabbage is such a popular vegetable addition to meals is the wealth of phytochemicals, antioxidants, nutrients, vitamins as well as different kind of minerals. Its organic compounds are almost too many to list, but its antioxidants like anthocyanins and indoles are extremely valuable for human health. In addition to that, one of the most important functions of this amazing vegetable is its role in cancer prevention. The high levels of antioxidants in red cabbage make it extremely important as a preventative measure. The rich coloring is proof of just how powerful these vegetables are for your overall health.
Finding a healthy option…
The fact that red cabbage doesn’t only support your health and tastes good, I tried to create a healthy but also tasty and colorful creation – perfect for this cold, grey time of the year. I mixed it with cilantro and cinnamon, as I really think its an excellent combination of a typical austrian taste meeting an extraordinary asian touch. This mixture was love at first sight. If you are extra hungry and wanna add some carbs, chestnuts are a really good and healthy option to top up with.
Roasted red cabbage with cilantro-cinnamon topping
Print recipe
Ingredients
- 1 head red cabbage
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
- 1 cup of chopped cilantro
- 5 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 organic lemons
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
Cut or crush the garlic, chop the cilantro and fry it.
Set aside to cool.
Pull off the outer leaf of the cabbage and cut the cabbage from the top to bottom into 1-inch thick slices.
With a spray or brush, spread the olive oil all over the red cabbage.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper over each, then cut the lemons and sprinkle the lemon juice over top.
Now spread the garlic-cilantro mixture all over the red cabbage.
Prepare the red cabbage in a flat, oven-to-table ware.
For the perfect finish, sprinkle the cinnamon on the red cabbage.
Now, we are ready: Roast on the middle rack for 45 minutes until the edges are brown and crispy.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
Notes
For the extra smile: Grind the lemon peel over the red cabbage when it is already prepared on the plate. What an amazing taste!
