Braised Red Cabbage

Here’s a quick recipe for today – braised red cabbage. There are a lot of ways to customize this and change it up but I want to show you just how simple and easy braised red cabbage can be.

Easy Braised Red Cabbage Recipe

• 1/2 of a small-medium red cabbage, cleaned and core removed (about 1.5 lbs.)
• 1 apple, peeled and cored (I typically use Braeburn apples, since they’re what I have on hand for snacking)
• 1/2 cup apple cider (or white) vinegar
• 2 cups cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

1. Cut cabbage into thin slices and add to a large saucepan
2. Cut the peeled and cored apples into small 1/2″ dice and add to pan
3. Pour vinegar and water into the pan
4. Add salt and stir everything together well
5. Bring mixture to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer
6. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until apple chunks have dissolved
7. Remove from heat, uncover and let sit 10 minutes. Serve warm or let cool and refrigerate.

This recipe makes about 4 cups of braised cabbage.

See? Isn’t that easy? We love braised cabbage and the vinegar helps it keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge, so we can enjoy it with a few meals or as a snack.

This shouldn’t be confused with pickled red cabbage, which is done using a cold-process pickling method, although that way is delicious, too. (We love cabbage!)

Now, some ways you can customize this:

• Add minced garlic and/or sliced onions to the mix
• Try a different vinegar
• Add a tablespoon of butter for some added richness
• Try some spices, such as caraway, juniper berries or even just black pepper

Now, I don’t add any additional sugar to my braised cabbage because I think the natural sugars from the apple are enough sweetness. If you find this too tart for your taste, you can add an additional apple or some white or brown sugar but if you add sugar, make sure you go easy with just a tablespoon or so. The idea is to have a sweet and sour mix.

Also, we prefer our braised cabbage to still have a little firmness and bite to it but, if after 30 minutes you find the cabbage is still too firm for your taste, let it cook 10-15 minutes longer. You don’t want to cook it until it’s mushy.

Enjoy!