Recipes

Pickled Cabbage with Bell Pepper and Garlic

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:

  1. Shred cabbage with a mandolin slicer or a very sharp knife.
  2. Peel carrots and grate them with a box grater using the medium holes grater side.
  3. Remove seeds and ribs from a bell pepper. Cut it into thin 1 ½ – 2 inch strips.
  4. Peel and slice garlic cloves.
  5. Place all the prepared vegetables into a large bowl or pan and mix them.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.

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