Pickled Cabbage is one of our family favorite salads in the Winter time. Pickled vegetables are very common in Slavic cuisines. Most of the families in Belarus have а summer cottage outside of the city with a garden, where they grow vegetables, berries and fruits. During the Summer season, while the selection of fresh vegetables is abundant, we prepare a different kind of pickles and then enjoy eating them in the Winter.
Some pickles can be prepared not so much in advance – just a day before serving. One of our such favorite and easy to make recipes is a pickled cabbage. It’s tasty, crispy, and healthy.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium head cabbage (about 2 lbs)
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 3 cups water
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 6-8 black peppercorns (whole black pepper)
- 1/8 tsp red chili pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup sunflower oil
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
Cooking Directions:
- Shred cabbage with a mandolin slicer or a very sharp knife.
- Peel carrots and grate them with a box grater using the medium holes grater side.
- Remove seeds and ribs from a bell pepper. Cut it into thin 1 ½ – 2 inch strips.
- Peel and slice garlic cloves.
- Place all the prepared vegetables into a large bowl or pan and mix them.
- Place water, sugar, salt, oil, black peppercorns, and red chili pepper flakes into a pan. Stir all together and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat off and add vinegar.
- Pour the hot mixture into the vegetables. Initially, the liquid mixture will not cover all the cabbage. Place a plate on the top and put something heavy on the top of the plate. I usually put a pan of water. It will help to soften the vegetables and cover it better with the liquid in some time.
- Let it sit for several hours. I usually leave it overnight. Remove the pan with water and the plate from the top and stir the cabbage well.
It’s ready to serve. You can serve it as a salad or a side dish.
You can store the pickled cabbage in a refrigerator up to two weeks.