Red Cabbage Alata

From all my diverse learning and discoveries about food and nutrition, I can safely conclude that good health is about understanding the food you eat and striking a balance in what you choose to eat, to create harmony in your body... does that make sense...?!

I understand that certain food items support the production of certain substances in our bodies... For instance some foods will support the production of collagen to make our skin healthy and fresh. Others will support the production of harmful substances in our bodies such as bad cholesterol, which has damaging effects on our hearts.

Further more, I have discovered a balance needs to be struck in our internal gut flora....! The  human gut is inhabited by trillions of micro-organisms, some of which are friendly and highly beneficial to our general health, and as expected some could be really dangerous to our health and cause diseases. So its a game of finding the types of food that promote the growth and sustenance of these good bacteria, over the bad and dangerous ones.

My very faithful readers know my style of experimenting with food. I tend to focus on one food ingredient and explore all possibilities with it. I read all about its nutritional data, y'know, just to get to understand and respect it. Then I begin to think of ways to process, cook, present and enjoy it... That's where I get the most fun.

I have been focusing on cabbage recently, especially the red variety, and have come to understand that it is one of those super food veggies that the friendly bacteria in my tommy love...!

Cabbage is typically served in salads in Nigeria, rarely cooked, so it is a little adventurous, what I came up with in this recipe...presenting Cabbage Alata.

What you need

• Red cabbage
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Yellow scotch bonnet chillis
• Chives for garnishing
• Palm oil
• Locust beans
• Dried fish
• Chicken stock

What to do

1. Grate some red cabbage and set aside. 
2. Blend tomatoes, peppers and onions. 
3. Add blend to some hot palm oil in a large sauce pan. 
4. Cook for about 5 minutes then add the dried fish, and locust beans. also add the stock. Stir all together and allow to cook for another 10 minutes or until the sauce is reduce to half its original volume. Taste for salt. 
5. Turn heat down and add mushrooms. 
6. Finally add the grated red cabbage. Stir all together, simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. 
7. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve hot with rice, yam, plantain...