Braised red cabbage with lentils and roasted onions

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 1 small red cabbage, finely sliced
• 2 red onions, cut into wedges
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tbsp extra for the onions
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 x 400g tin green or brown lentils, drained and rinsed
• 150ml vegetable stock
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• Small handful dill, roughly chopped
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Get the onions roasting

Heat the oven to 200°C fan. Put the red onion wedges into a roasting tin with the extra olive oil, a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Toss well, then roast for 25–30 minutes, turning once, until soft, golden at the edges and just catching in places. You want them sweet and slightly sticky, not merely hot.

2. Start the cabbage

While the onions roast, heat the remaining olive oil in a large saucepan or deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and caraway seeds and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Add the sliced red cabbage with a good pinch of salt and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until it starts to soften and relax a little.

3. Build the braise

In a small bowl or jug, mix together the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and vegetable stock. Pour this into the pan with the cabbage and stir well. Bring it to a gentle simmer, then cover loosely and cook for 20–25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the cabbage is tender but still has a bit of life left in it. You want soft and glossy, not collapsed into complete surrender.

4. Add the lentils

Stir the lentils into the cabbage and cook for another 5 minutes until warmed through and properly acquainted with everything else in the pan. Have a taste and add a little more salt, black pepper or vinegar if it needs brightening up.

5. Finish properly

Take the pan off the heat and stir through most of the parsley and dill, keeping a little back for the end. The herbs want to lift everything rather than disappear into it.

6. Serve

Spoon the braised red cabbage and lentils onto a serving dish or into bowls, then top with the roasted onions. Scatter over the remaining herbs and serve warm. Very good on its own, or alongside roast roots, mashed potatoes or something grain-based if you want to make it go a little further.

A couple of helpful notes
- Green or brown lentils hold their shape best here, so they are worth seeking out over red lentils, which would disappear entirely.
- If the cabbage starts catching before it has softened, add a splash more stock or water rather than pretending it will sort itself out.
'- This is one of those dishes that often tastes even better after a little time, so leftovers are no bad thing at all.