Braised red cabbage. Don't turn your nose up, just keep reading.

I read about this red cabbage a little while back on The Wednesday Chef and it's been bouncing around in the back of my mind ever since. It's a recipe from Marco Canora, whose kitchen I worked in for a brief spell not so long ago (though it feels like a lifetime). I loved everything that came out of that kitchen. Really tasty, satisfying food that could impress you with unimaginable flavor but resisted pretension. I don't recall this cabbage ever being on the menu, but it no doubt would have a place there in the winter.

I went to the market on Sunday and was disappointed in the dearth of vegetables available: beets, carrots, potatoes, and kale. Not much else. I did get some kale (watch for that later this week), and then I spied some small heads of red cabbage and felt a little less disenchanted with February produce.

I've never prepared cabbage at home, and I rarely eat it outside a slather of kraut on a hot dog or a piece or two of kimchi from the Asian buffet. After tonight's cooking session, that's all going to change. This dish is unbelievably good, and really easy to make. Cabbage gets a bad rep, though I'm not sure why. Stinky, sour, and limply textured is the slander that springs to mind but, as with all vegetables, cooked properly it can be pretty fantastic.

Here's the recipe. When all's said and done, what you have is a fragrant, sweet-and-sour pile of beautiful purply ribbons, soft to the bite but not mushy and deeply satisfying. You'll see I prepared it with a link of sausage (lamb), which was fine but couldn't hold a candle to the cabbage. (I need to work on my sausage cookery. I hate how it gets all sputtery. Grilled sausage is best, I think.)



Braised Red Cabbage
adapted from Wednesday Chef/Marco Canora
Serves 2 generously, 4 frugally

1 tb butter
1 small onion, red or yellow, sliced thin
2 small heads red cabbage (1 lb total), quartered, thick center spines removed, then sliced thin
1/4 c cider vinegar
1/3 c dry red wine
1 tb caraway seed
1 tb mustard seed (or mustard powder, which is all I had)
1/4 c brown sugar (if you're more into sour than sweet, I think you could cut the sugar in half safely. I liked the sweetness in the finish, but next time I might cut back to see how it's different.)
1 small apple, Granny Smith or any kind of tart-sweet variety, peeled and coarsely grated
Salt & pepper

Melt butter over medium/medium-low heat in a good-size pot or saute pan with lid and add onion and a bit of salt. Sweat for 5 minutes until onion is soft.

Add cabbage and stir for a few minutes until it begins to wilt, then add remaining ingredients and stir well.

Lower heat to a simmer, cover cabbage and cook until the cabbage is soft and the liquid is reduced to about half--it will take about 40 minutes.

**I know, this is not really the fastest dish, but have a bit of that red wine while you're waiting and maybe a quick salad or (in my case) some bread and cheese and you'll be tucking into this colorful wonder in no time at all.**