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Braised Red Cabbage

Servings 4 to 6

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cups shredded red cabbage (a small head of cabbage)
  • 1 tart apple, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sugar, or possibly more
  • water

Instructions

  • Melt the butter and oil together in a big, heavy skillet that has a lid. Add the onions and bay leaf to the oil and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 90 seconds or so. Then add the cabbage, apple, and pear, and stir everything to coat with the oil. Sauté it all, stirring and turning, until the cabbage is crunchy-cooked, about seven or eight minutes. Then all at once add the cloves, red wine, 1 tablespoon sugar and the red wine vinegar. Stir everything, cover tightly and turn the heat down to simmer over low.
  • This dish is best if it cooks for a long time. Check on it every now and then (don’t just walk away). If it seems very dry, add more wine or a little water. You don’t want a great flood of liquid, but you don’t want it to be bone dry either.
  • Allow at least an hour of gentle simmering on the stovetop. At the end, it should be cloaked in liquid, with a little in the bottom of the pan. You can serve as soon as 30 minutes from the start, but we like this when it cooks and melds together for at least an hour. Traditional versions of this dish cook for up to two hours.
  • Because the fruit in this recipe may vary in sweetness, you may also want to adjust the flavor by adding more sugar—we suggest starting out with just a tablespoon and then adding more later on if that seems right to your palate.
  • Serve hot. If serving the next day, it can be gently reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Kitchen Notes

Instead of an apple and a pear, you may use all pear or all apple.
I do not recommend honey for this dish—it will just not be the same.
Substitute for water? Yes. For some added umami, you can use a little chicken stock instead.
Doubles? Yes. If you choose a big head of cabbage, you definitely can scale this up. Use a light hand with the cloves, though. They can quickly overpower other flavors.