Christmas Braised Red Cabbage with Apples recipe

This is one dish that I prepare without fail every year during Christmas. It takes time to prep and cook but is actually a very simple dish. I usually cook a big batch of this and store in the fridge. It can be cooked a few days in advance and reheated easily.

This dish goes really well with the usual Christmas roasts. The sourness of the red cabbage balances the flavours of the rest of the meats.

This is a very forgiving recipe. You can add more or less vinegar depending on how sharp you like it to be.


Braised Red Cabbage with Apples


Ingredients:

2 tbsp. butter
1 whole red cabbage - shredded thinly
2 onions - shredded thinly
4 green apples - cut into 1cm cubes
2 cinnamon sticks
a good splash of red wine
250ml red wine vinegar
salt and pepper


Instructions:

1. Melt butter in a large non-stick pan over medium high heat
2. Add the onions and cook for 1-2 minutes until slightly softened
3. Add the red cabbage to the pan
4. Add salt and pepper generously, and stir
5. Add a good splash of red wine, followed by red wine vinegar
6. Put in 2 cinnamon sticks
7. Continue cooking, uncovered, and stir well to combine, letting some of the liquid evaporate
8. When the liquid has reduced, lower the heat and cover tightly for 30 minutes
9. Add the cubed apples and stir to combine
10. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes over low heat, tightly covered. Check and stir every 10 minutes until the red cabbage has softened

Notes: You can add some sugar to reduce the sharpness of the vinegar, but I usually do not add sugar as I like mine sour and I am trying to keep my sugar intake low. But you can definitely add it if you like.