Braised Cabbage with Prunes

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you braise cabbage with prunes? Start by gathering all your ingredients. You can use either a fresh spring cabbage or one from the fall storage crop. Young cabbage is the better choice — it'll come out more tender and juicy — but an older head works too; it just needs to braise a little longer.

2. Step 2:

   

   Rinse the cabbage and shred it thinly, working around the tough parts of the leaves near the core. You'll want about 1 kg (2 lb) of shredded cabbage, so buy a head with a little to spare.

3. Step 3:

   

   Rinse the prunes. As a final step you can set them in a sieve and pour boiling water over them to wash away any last bits of grit. Halve any large prunes; small ones can stay whole.

4. Step 4:

   

   Heat the vegetable oil in a deep skillet. Add the cabbage, season it with salt, and pour in 100 ml (about 1/2 cup) of the water.

5. Step 5:

   

   Stir well, cover the skillet, and braise over medium heat, stirring now and then, for about 10 minutes. With young cabbage, as in this recipe, it'll take a little less time. The extra moisture should cook off and the cabbage will shrink down in volume.

6. Step 6:

   

   Once it does, stir in the tomato paste and sugar. Continue to braise, stirring, for another 4 minutes. You can use ketchup in place of the tomato paste if you like.

7. Step 7:

   

   Add the prunes, coriander, allspice, and black pepper. Pour in the remaining water and the lemon juice. Stir everything together and braise until nearly all the liquid has cooked away. The sugar and lemon juice balance out the overall flavor nicely. If you're not sure the sweet-and-tangy note is for you, feel free to leave them out.

8. Step 8:

   

   Take the skillet off the heat, cover it, and let the cabbage rest for 10 minutes.

9. Step 9:

   

   Spoon the braised cabbage with prunes onto plates and serve. Enjoy!