Braised Red Cabbage

Name: Braised Red Cabbage
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 2 lb red cabbage (quartered, cored, thinly shredded); 3 tbsp butter; 1 unit onion (diced); 2 unit apples, tart (peeled, grated); ¼ cup apple cider vinegar; 2 tbsp sugar; ¾ cup water; 2 unit bay leaves; 5 unit allspice berries (whole); ½ tsp black peppercorns (whole); 1 ½ tsp salt

Sides & Vegetables · Eastern European & Slavic

11 ingredients · 95 minutes · 2 servings

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Variations

Roux-Finished Red CabbageThe Polish-style flour-and-butter finish already described in the reference.View recipe →

474kcal8g protein18.6g fat78.9g carbs*

Contains dairy · only in an optional ingredient: gluten

Restrictions

ContainsdairyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.

Only if you add itgluten (flour)Leave that ingredient out and the dish does not have it.

Diets

VegetarianPescatarianNo porkNo alcohol · without one

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

2 lb	red cabbage (quartered, cored, thinly shredded)
3 tbsp	butter
1 unit	onion (diced)
2 unit	apples, tart (peeled, grated)
¼ cup	apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp	sugar
¾ cup	water
2 unit	bay leaves
5 unit	allspice berries (whole)
½ tsp	black peppercorns (whole)
1 ½ tsp	salt

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

2 tbsp	flour (for zasmazka)
2 tbsp	butter (for zasmazka)
4 unit	juniper berries (whole)
3 unit	cloves (whole)
½ tsp	caraway seed
½ cup	dry red wine
2 tbsp	red currant jelly
1 tbsp	honey
8 oz	raspberries

Steps

slice15 min
thin, 2–3 mm ribbons
red cabbage quartered, the hard white core cut out and discarded, then shredded across the leaf — thick shreds stay leathery long after the liquid has gone, and leftover core never softens at all
saute8 min
medium, uncovered
butter + onion, until translucent and just starting to colour at the edges; this is the only browning in the dish, so rushing it on high heat gives scorched flecks rather than sweetness
saute8 min
medium-high, tossing
+ shredded cabbage, in two additions if the pot looks full, until it collapses to about half its volume and turns glossy — the cabbage must give up water here, or the braise starts dry and catches
braise60 min
covered, low, gentle simmer
+ grated apple + water + 2 tbsp of the vinegar + 1 tsp of the sugar + bay leaves + allspice + peppercorns + salt, stirring every 15 minutes and scraping the bottom. The vinegar goes in now for colour, not flavour: red cabbage pigment is an acid indicator, and without acid an hour-long braise turns it a dull blue-grey. If the pot ever looks dry, add water a few tablespoons at a time; the failure mode is a scorched bottom layer that flavours the whole batch = tender, jammy cabbage
season10 min
uncovered, tasting between additions
+ remaining vinegar and sugar in three stages, tasting after each — sweet and sour move together, so if it tastes sharp add sugar, and if it tastes flat and jammy add vinegar rather than salt. Let the liquid reduce until it coats the cabbage instead of pooling; for the Polish zasmazana finish, brown the optional flour in butter and stir it in here. Fish out the bay leaves and allspice berries before serving
store1 min
refrigerated overnight, then reheated gently
= better the next day, once the acid, sugar and spice have moved through the cabbage; every source says so, which makes this a make-ahead side by design. Reheat covered with a splash of water and re-taste the vinegar, since the sharpness fades in the cold