Madrid-Style Red Cabbage with Ham and Apple (Lombarda a la madrileña)

Name: Madrid-Style Red Cabbage with Ham and Apple (Lombarda a la madrileña)
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Spanish & Portuguese
Ingredients: 1.5 kg red cabbage; 2 small tart apples; 1 small red onion; 1 clove of garlic; 150 g serrano ham, diced; 25 ml vinegar; 1 pinch of pine nuts; 1 pinch of raisins; 350 ml water; 1 tsp sugar; olive oil, paprika, salt to taste

Time: 40 min8 servingsapprox. 130 kcal / serving (estimated)approx. 6 g protein / serving

Lombarda, or red cabbage, is a traditional Christmas Eve side dish in Madrid. This version combines sweet, salty and sour flavours: the cabbage comes with tart apple, raisins and pine nuts, while serrano ham gives it depth. It is ideal with roast meat or turkey, and you can make it in a large batch ahead of time.

Madrid-Style Red Cabbage with Ham and Apple (Lombarda a la madrileña) (illustration)

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Method

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Wash the cabbage in cold water, remove the outer leaves, cut into quarters, cut out the core, then slice into fine strips.
Put the cabbage in a pressure cooker (or a pot with a lid) with the water, which should come slightly below the level of the cabbage, plus the vinegar and sugar. Cook for 10 minutes (in a pressure cooker), until tender.
Meanwhile peel and chop the onion and garlic. Core, peel and slice the apples. Dice the ham. In a large pan, cook the onion and garlic until translucent, then add the apple, pine nuts and raisins and fry, stirring constantly.
When the cabbage is tender, drain it and add it to the pan. Mix everything together, add the ham and fry together for a few more minutes. Add salt to taste, bearing in mind that the ham can be salty too.

Source: Wikibooks – Artes culinarias – Artes culinarias/Recetas/Lombarda a la madrileña (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted and translated. This page is also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Tips

Do not leave out the vinegar, because the acidity preserves the cabbage's vivid purple colour; without it, it turns bluish.
Slice the cabbage thinly so it softens more evenly. Without a pressure cooker, it is ready in 35-40 minutes with the lid on.
Add the ham only at the end and adjust the salt after that, because the ham is salty in its own right.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make it without the ham?

Yes, without the ham you get a vegetarian side dish. A pinch of smoked paprika partly makes up for its flavour.

How long does it keep?

It keeps for 4 days in the fridge, and the flavours come together even better by the next day. Reheat it in a frying pan with a little oil.

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