If you like the idea of meat and cabbage stew, but would prefer something a little more robust and flavourful, then this is the recipe for you! Not only does it add cloves and coriander to the seasonings, but it comes with a plethora of extra vegetables as well. It's just your standard soup vegetables, but it still makes for a lovely bit of extra flavour and texture in the bowl.

Spiced Meat and Cabbage Stew

Ingredients

• 1 pot of meat and cabbage stew
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 1 bowl of staple soup vegetables

Directions

1. Make your cabbage stew as directed.
2. Add the cloves, coriander, and soup vegetables and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for ~1 hour.
4. Serve with your favourite crusty bread.

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Variations

Spiced Meat and Cabbage Stew (from scratch)

Ingredients

Stock

• soup bones and/or meat scraps
• 2 onions, halved
• 2-4 carrots, cut into large chunks
• 3L water
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried sage
• 2 large sprigs of rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns

Optional Extras

• 2-4 cloves garlic, halved
• handful of fresh parsley
• 2-4 ribs of celery, cut into large chunks

Stew

• ~1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1kg stewing beef (or similar)
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 2-4 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 onions, quartered and sliced
• 2-4 ribs of celery, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 500g potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1L stock (from above)
• 500g cabbage, sliced thin
• 250g sauerkraut (optional)
• 12 whole cloves
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, toasted and ground

Directions

1. Combine all of the stock ingredients and cook low and slow for several hours. (A slow cooker works very well for this. Let the stock cook overnight and drain the next morning.)
2. Strain the solids out of the stock and discard them. Reserve 1L of stock for this recipe and save the rest for another use.
3. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper.
4. Dredge the meat in the seasoned flour.
5. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
6. Add the meat and sear (in batches if necessary). Remove meat from pot and set aside.
7. Add the carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes and cook until the onions soften and the potatoes start to get a bit of colour (~10 minutes).
8. Add the stock and deglaze pot.
9. Return the meat to the pot.
10. Add the cabbage, sauerkraut, cloves, and coriander and bring to a boil.
11. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 2-4 hours. (Or put in the slow cooker for at least 6 hours or as long as overnight.)