There is a base German Red Cabbage recipe that I have made for years with variations on how I attain sweet and sour perfection, but a couple of weeks ago, I updated the recipe to a simpler, cleaner, (still very delicious for those of us who like sweet and sour flavors) version. I made a vat of it but the evening was slightly alcohol fueled and I happily sent my friend home with ALL of the leftovers. While I appreciated the thank you text sent after he ate the rest for lunch the next day, I immediately felt the urge to make another vat and freeze the post dinner remainders for my own future personal enjoyment. It also helped that red cabbages were a prominent feature in my CSA box this week.
This is lovely as is, but would be quite delicious if cooked with bacon fat and some crumbled bacon added at the end, or with the addition of half of a thinly sliced onion stirred in at the same time as the apple.
And this pork dish, or any kind of grilled pork chop really, is the perfect foil for this side dish but it would be good as one of the component of a dinner salad, with grain, roasted vegetables and a hummus of some kind, for example.
1 small head of red cabbage, halved, cored and sliced very thinly (about 5-6 cups of final product)
1 organic red apple, peel on, grated with the largest setting of a box grater
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsps balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsps olive oil or animal fat of some kind
Salt
Heat the oil and the bay leaf in a large skillet over medium heat.
As soon the oil starts to shimmer, add the cabbage and stir well so that each cabbage "strand" has a slight sheen of oil. Salt well.
Cook, stirring often for a few minutes, until the cabbage just starts to wilt. Lower the heat, add the apple (and onion if using). Stir to combine.
Add the vinegars, stir to distribute the liquid throughout the cabbage. Cover and cook over very low heat, stirring from time to time, for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes, depending on how much bite you like left in your cabbage.
Taste and adjust for seasoning and sweet and sour notes, adding more balsamic or red wine vinegar according to your needs.
Remove bay leaf before serving.
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