Roux-Finished Red Cabbage

Name: Roux-Finished 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; 2 tbsp flour (for zasmazka); 2 tbsp butter (for zasmazka)

Sides & Vegetables · Eastern European & Slavic

A variant of Braised Red Cabbage — The Polish-style flour-and-butter finish already described in the reference.

13 ingredients · 95 minutes · 2 servings

Cook Now

Contains gluten, dairy

Restrictions

Containsgluten · dairyIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.

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
2 tbsp	flour (for zasmazka)
2 tbsp	butter (for zasmazka)

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

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
Add the remaining vinegar and sugar gradually, tasting between additions. In a small pan, brown the listed extra 2 tablespoons of butter with the 2 tablespoons of flour, stirring so it does not burn. Stir this roux into the cabbage and simmer for the last 5 minutes to thicken the juices. Remove 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