Last night, I had dinner with my folks. One of the items on the menu was red cabbage. It's a dish I've always loved, the sweet and sour cabbage goes so well with pork, beef, pasta, chicken. It's a vegetable that can stand alone.
Before we ate, I took some pictures of the dish, figuring on sharing it with you all. I used my cell phone since I didn't have my camera with me, and for some reason, it blocked all three photos together. One of those options I then could not figure out how to get rid of.
Here's the recipe for Rotkohl mit Apfeln (Red Cabbage with Apples). In parentheses are notes on variations my mother employed. She feels strongly that three cups of water is plenty, that you don't want a soaking dish of cabbage, rather it should be a bit dry.
A 2-2 1/2-pound head of red cabbage
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lard or bacon fat
2 medium-sized cooking apples (Mom used Granny Smith) peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch-thick wedges
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 whole onion, peeled and pierced with 2 whole cloves (Mom just threw in 2 cloves, rather than studding them into an onion)
1 small bay leaf
5 cups boiling water (Mom used 3)
3 tablespoons dry red wine
3 tablespoons red currant jelly (optional)
Wash the head of cabbage under cold running water, remove the rough outer leaves and cut the cabbage into quarters. To shred the cabbage, cut out the core and slice the quarters crosswise into 1/8-inch strips.
Drop the cabbage into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle it with the vinegar, sugar and salt, then toss the shreds about with a spoon to coat them evenly with the mixture. In a heavy 4- to 5-quart casserole, melt the lard or bacon fat over moderate heat. Add the apples and chopped onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the apples are lightly browned. Add the cabbage, the whole onion with cloves, and the bay leaf; stir thoroughly and pour in the boiling water. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, and reduce the heat to its lowest possible point. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the cabbage is tender. Check from time to time to make sure that the cabbage is moist. If it seems dry, add a tablespoon of boiling water. When the cabbage is done, there should be almost no liquid left in the casserole. Just before serving, remove the onion and bay leaf, and stir in the wine and the currant jelly. Taste for seasoning, then transfer the entire contents of the casserole to a heated platter or bowl and serve.
[This recipe is from the Time-Life series, Foods of the World, in The Cooking of Germany by Nika Standen Hazelton.]
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