Main course

Red cabbage, onion and walnut tart

by mimithorisson

Do you know the feeling when you eat something so good you can’t wait to have it again? Well that was how I felt yesterday when I made the red cabbage and walnut tart. Let’s face it, cabbage is very wholesome, but it’s the kind of vegetable that you don’t always feel like cooking, but you would like to.

Last week-end, I got carried away and couldn’t resist buying a few too many vegetables. Since I have become a country girl, markets have become my new playground, and to my surprise, I get more excited with seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers than the latest Louboutins. Our kitchen table always looks like a bold still-life painting, where nature’s gifts colour our every day life. Perhaps it’s all in the way they are displayed, but I get so inspired by the colours and smells, the more petals I see, the more scents I smell, I get immersed in a fantasy world free to create anything I want.

I decided to slice the poor red cabbage that fell off the plate to see if it was still fresh. Wasting food upsets me, and I had to give it a last chance. As the cabbage opened, I was drawn to its inner beauty – splendid purple-red spirals everywhere, screaming for an alliance with flavours to match. That’s when I decided to make this tart. The walnuts were there, the red onions were fresh – the game was on.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

1 (ready-made or home-made) 230 grs puff or shortcrust pastry
3/4 head red cabbage (shredded)
2 red onions (sliced)
1 tbsp thyme
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Handful of walnuts
30 g butter (for frying)
Salt and pepper to taste
Crème fraîche to serve
Handful of chopped parsley

What I love about this delicious recipe is that it takes about 12 minutes to prepare!

Preheat oven 180°C/ 350 F (180 C).
In a large pan, melt the butter on a medium heat, fry the red onions for 4 minutes. Add the shredded red cabbage and continue frying for 5 more minutes, adding salt, thyme and pepper. Finish with the balsamic vinegar, reduce for 2 minutes. Set aside.
Line the tart dish with the ready rolled pastry. Add the cabbage mixture, place the walnuts all over the tart and bake in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown.
Serve warm with a spoon of crème fraîche and chopped parsley.