This is the smell of Christmas to me , it is really easy to cook after a bit of chopping and is delicious with the Christmas ham, I always reserve a bit of the cabbage to make some slaw too - delicious

Oven at 180C

1 medium head of red cabbage

3 medium cooking apples

100g brown sugar

1tsp each of cumin coriander and mixed spice

1/2 tsp of Chinese 5 spice

zest and juice of a large orange

30g butter

4tbsp red wine vinegar

You need the shredding blade on your food processor for this or if you dont have one, do it with a knife and be careful - you need fine shred.

Cut the cabbage in half and each half into 3 or 4 and push them through the food processor

Add to a large bowl

Peel and core the apples and put them through the processor and into the bowl

Mix the sugar with the spices and add to the bowl

Give everything a good stir and add the zest and juice of the orange and the red wine vinegar and mix again

Use a small knob of butter and grease a heavy casserole or pot (you need a lid) and pack the cabbage into it , cut the rest of the butter into knobs and dot on the top of the cabbage. Cook in the oven for 2 hours, give it a stir even 30 mins or so.

This can be prepared ahead and stored in the fridge and simply reheated on the day.

Delicious with the turkey and ham and a lovely contrast to all the heavy meats.