Purple Pizza

Homemade Pizza!

This is not ordinary pizza, this is a purple pizza made with red cabbage pesto.   Enjoy!

Purple Pizza
Serves 2 - 4
Ingredients
Pizza base (make your own or shop bought)

Very Easy Red Cabbage Pesto

A few months ago, I got hold of some purple sweet potato.  I made a Pizza with it, but we were so hungry that evening that I never got round to photographing its bold vivid colour.  I did not want to lose out on sharing the striking bright colour of this easy red purple cabbage pesto.  So I asked D to get a photograph for me while I got on with other things in the kitchen.  

I had half a red cabbage in the fridge, left over from another another dish  that I had made (also not photographed).  I was inspired to make a Red Cabbage Pesto that I saw a long while back in The Guardian and bookmarked.  

Its a relatively simple and easy recipe, only four ingredients: red cabbage, garlic, sunflower seeds and olive oil.   I have to admit the raw garlic was quite pungent to the point it had heat and left that burning sensation in the mouth, not particularly pleasant.  So I sauteed the pesto in a little oil before using it for the required dish, once of which included a Pasta Salad.  However, if your okay with raw garlic, this step is not necessary. 

I am sharing this Very Easy Red Cabbage Pesto with Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for No Waste Food Challenge; Cook Blog Share co-hosted between Sneaky Veg;  Easy Peasy Foodie and  Hijacked By Twins and with Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition.

Red Curry - Red Onion, Red Cabbage and Red Beet Root

This was supper yesterday evening.  I had the day off from work and had ideas of going into the the big city of Cardiff or further afield Bristol and treat myself to some luxury items: shoes, a dress, a raincoat ... but no  - I decided to stay at home and do some cooking.

This Red Curry made can almost be described as a dry curry.  One that can be eaten with naan bread or chappati aka roti, but if you want it to be more liquid, you can stir in a can of Coconut milk, then I would suggest eating it with some Basmati rice as its a little more sloppy, but rich and tasty none-the-less, The addition of coconut milk will also make it more of a Pink Dish - in which case I may have called it Pink Curry with a nod towards LGBT History Month which is presently being acknowledged and celebrated in the UK, but no this is definitely a shade of mahogony wine red, not pink! 

I've made an spectacular Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry in the past and this is not that different really.  Though this one is to keep up with the red vegetables theme, is made with red onions, red cabbage, red beetroot and even red chillies.  

A final word on the photograph, yes - I know the colours are a bit in your face, but I'm playing around a little - just humour me, I know its not great, the Red Curry on the other hand was enjoyable, but different. 

Black Soba Noodles with Miso Dressed Vegetables and Edamame Beans

The day started quite bleak -weather wise, but the sun did come out - we went into the city of Cardiff today.  D wanted a new pair of shoes for work and I had to been given responsibility to pick up a Birthday present for a colleague at work.  

When we got home, a little hungry - I decided to put together a noodle salad style dish.  I've been seeing raw rainbow salads appearing both in cookbooks and on blogosphere.  Many of these rainbow salads are made with shredded purple cabbage and grated carrot, a bit like a sesame seed coleslaw really, but without the mayonnaise dressing. 

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

Yesterday I posed a question on my blog about my red cabbages and a number of fellow bloggers came up with some lovely recipe suggestions, but I was drawn to Fred's Russian family heritage recipe for 'sweet and sour red cabbage' (see below). I have seen many versions of this dish. Some have red currant jelly, some have caraway seed, some can be eaten hot, others cold, but I have to admit I was never tempted at all as I thought it looked boring, but decided to give it a go after receiving Fred's suggestion. Well I have to conclude, I am a convert. The flavour is sweet and sour but not sharp. Whilst cooking this dish I had been tasting it so see if it was meltingly tender, I tasted it so much, that we hardly have any left to eat with mashed potatoes later on. Oh well, I think that's a good sign that I like it!
For those of you who have not visited Fred's vegetable gardening blog, Grown Away please do stop by for a nosy round; and give him a warm welcome to the growing and blogging world.

Fred's Grandmothers 'Sweet and sour Red Cabbage'
Serves 4
All in one: Ingredients and Method
50g or 1/2 a stick of butter, 1 head of red cabbage (about a kilo or a bit less) cut into quarters. Remove the outer leaves and white core. Slice nice and thin, 6 (75g) tablespoons of sugar, I used brown sugar, and 150 ml of balsamic vinegar.Melt the butter over medium heat & saute the cabbage until it starts wilting, add the sugar, coating the cabbage evenly, add vinegar, reduce to medium-low. Cover and simmer the cabbage until it is tender (about 30-35 minutes). Remove the cabbage, season with a pinch of salt or pepper.

Fred writes 'It's a simple recipe that tastes great'. I for one am not going to disagree.

Purple and Green Cabbage Potato cakes

Cabbage is a member of the Cruciferae family. It is related to broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards and kale.

There are three major types of cabbage: green, red and Savoy. The colour of green cabbage ranges from pale yellow to dark green, while red cabbage has leaves that are either crimson or purple with white veins running through it. Both cabbages are beautifully packed with layers of tight leaves - natures natural wrapping, protecting each from the sunlight.

These individual potato cakes are essentially individual bubble and squeak cakes. The only difference is I have made these with both Minicole, a green cabbage and Marner Early, a red cabbage which to my eyes is more purple than red, even more so when prepared like this. If you want a really vibrant purple potato cake, make these potato cakes in advance and let them sit in the fridge for two days, the colour of the red cabbage will drain and have been absorbed by the potatoes. So when you cut into it you will have a purple potato cake. I know this because I made enough potato cakes to last us a few days, and when it came to consuming the final lot, they were beautifully purple. The taste remained the same.

I think this is my favourite way to eat red cabbage, maybe…just maybe it will become yours too.

Cabbage Potato Cakes
Makes about 8
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil and extra for shallow frying
2 small cabbages, one red and one green, cut into quarters, then sliced thinly.
700g potatoes, peeled. cooked and mashed and allowed to cool down and divided into two bowls.
2 small onions, finely sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

Method
In two separate pans, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and soften in each onions and cabbages, until translucent and cooked through. Turn off heat and allow to cool. When cool, add the cooked cabbages to each potato bowl, combine well and season to taste. Then shape into individual round cakes. Cover and chill for an hour or more. When ready to eat, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. Add the cakes and fry over medium high heat for about 5 minutes on each side until crisp and golden brown.

Cabbages and Kings

Most of us have heard the lines 'the time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings' (Lewis Carroll), but how many of us heard of the ancient Greek saying ‘cabbages twice cooked is death’ (me neither, until quite recently)?

Anyway, here are two of my cabbages sliced open: Marner Red Fruerot and Minicole. Splendid! Cabbages likes broccoli, sprouts and kohlrabi all belong to the Brassica family. It is also known as the Cruciferae family, so called because their flowers have four petals arranged as a cross. A cross with arms of equal length is a symbol of the sun. Cabbages are extremely hardy and thrive in cold damp winters and are capable of withstanding temperatures which would destroy many other crops. In my first year of growing cabbages I had problems with clubroot, I was told to twist a narrow strip of tinfoil around the roots of the cabbage plants to prevent cabbage fly, but I never did, as I had been fortunate in the coming year. I also read that it is worth planting a stick of rhubarb amongst cabbage plants as it apparently prevents club root. However, the one thing I still seem to be doing wrong is not planting them deep enough, as every cabbage grows up in the air like a football on a pole, rather than thick to the ground. I must find a way to remedy that next year.
There are a variety of Cabbages: Green white, red and even purple cabbages and the ruffled leaves of Savoys are familiar to most of us. But over the past few years, we have seen the appearance of newer varieties, in particular Asian cabbages with their milder flavours, subtle differences and their culinary uses are still unusual to many of us. Under the category of Chinese cabbages, we find varieties such as Napa, the tall Michihli (also called celery cabbage), the flat cabbage, the flowering white cabbage, Tai-sai, Lei-choi, and Pakchoi, also known as bok choy; and under the European category we find: minicole, hispi, greyhound also known as sweetheart, the name changed perhaps to make us look at it with more appeal.

Cabbages are a good source of vitamin C and potassium. The cabbage has a place in almost every cuisine from Korean kim chee, German sauerkraut, and Irish colcannon. However, even with the infinite number of cabbages appearing at our grocery stores and supermarkets, we as Brits are still not as creative with it and end up making the usual dishes at home, such as as coleslaw, bubble and squeak or stir-fries – all of which I have been guilty of. But it is not just our lack of creativity that limits our use of the cabbage. The cabbages somewhat unglamorous reputation has also halted many of us from cooking or even eating it in our homes. For centuries, the over cooking (boiling to death) of cabbages has put us off the taste; and if it is not the taste, it is the smell. Anyone who has sat near a kitchen or entered a building where a cabbage was being boiled would not have been able to escape its anti-social emission (pooh-wee). Modern science has explained the smells of the cabbage as simply a release of hydrogen sulphide, but this fact still has not done the cabbage any favour. It will take a Great chef to transform the cabbage into a culinary delight, so that is graces many a table with joy and delight. Until then, please enjoy my humble offering of cabbage spring rolls.
I had originally thought about getting D to make some of his coleslaw, but then changed my mind for something different. I decided to make these spring rolls with subtle oriental flavours. I am sending this post to Cinzia of Cindystar for Weekend Herb Blogging #205, the weekly event founded by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and now coordinated by Haalo of Cook (Almost) Anything at Least Once.

I liked the cabbage spring rolls the subtle flavour of the sesame oil came through, but I did not enjoy the dipping sauce. This dipping sauce contained grapefruit marmalade which I found too bitter for me. I also thought the flavour of the marmalade overwhelmed the subtle flavours in the spring rolls.

Red and Green Cabbage Spring rolls
Makes about 12
Ingredients
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 large white onion, finely sliced
1 small red cabbage, cut in half then finely sliced
1 small white or green cabbage, cut in half then finely sliced
3 stalks of celery, finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
Black pepper to taste
About 12-16 large spring roll wrappers
Oil sealing and for baking
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan. Add the onion and saute over moderate heat until translucent. Add celery and cook for a few minutes until well coated. Now divide the onion mixture in two and transfer to another pan. To one pan add the red cabbage, to the other add the green cabbage and sauté until the cabbage are cooked through and translucent. Season to taste with soy sauce and pepper.
When the mixture is cool, divide it amongst 12 – 16 spring roll wrappers. I lightly sealed the wrappers with some oil. Then baked them in the oven on a lightly greased tray at gas mark 5 for 10 minutes, then flipped them over for a further 5 minutes on the other side.

Marmalade dipping sauce
½ cup of orange or grapefruit marmalade
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
½ grated ginger
1 tsp soy sauce
Dash of cayenne pepper
Method

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Transfer to a small serving dish and set aside. Adapted from Vegetarian Celebrations by Nava Atlas.