Sassy sauerkraut

1.Remove the core and outer leaves of the cabbages. Chop or grate each cabbage very finely and put in separate large bowls with 1 tsp of salt with each – red and green. Get your hands in there and mix the salt through, squeezing and scrunching the cabbage or pounding it with a bottle or pestle for 5-7 minutes. The cabbage will quickly get damp as the salt draws out the water and the volume of cabbage will decrease as it becomes softer and wetter.

2.Add the mustard seeds to the red and the turmeric to the green cabbage. Mix.

3.Pack the cabbage into sterilised jars and pour over any residual cabbage juice produced by the pounding. Push cabbage down until there are 1-2cm of liquid above it. If you are short of cabbage juice, make a brine out of water and salt to top the jar up. Top with a piece of cabbage leaf and add a weight to keep it all compacted – a stone will do the trick.

4.Cover loosely with a resealable bag and place jars in a tray or ice-cream container, as the brine will bubble over. I cover the jars with a tea towel too.

5.Leave the jars in a warm place (above 16-18°C) for 3 days. Every so often, give the mixture a push down to encourage the liquid to seep out, making sure the cabbage stays submerged. It will take 3-4 days for the good bacteria on the cabbage to ferment.

6.Close with sterilised lids and transfer to the fridge. You can eat it after 3 days or leave for as long as you like, depending on the desired flavour.