12 Days of Christmas Recipes: Our Mom’s Braised Red Cabbage

This is the ultimate in our holiday dining. No matter what occasion, this will always be part of the dinner spread. Our mom was born in Germany and this is the recipe her mom taught her, and her mom before that… and so on.

The best part it is, it tastes better the next day, so it truly is an easy — and super delicious — recipe for entertaining a crowd.

The Wine Sisters’ Braised Red Cabbage

serves 8-10

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp bacon fat or olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced fine
• 2 medium heads red cabbage, sliced
• 1 c. apple cider vinegar
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peel and chopped fine
• 1/2 c. white sugar
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 large dried bay leaves

Method

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat
2. Add onions and saute til soft, approx. 4 minutes
3. Add sliced cabbage (you may have to do this a bit at a time depending on the size of your pot)
4. When the all cabbage has wilted, add the vinegar and lower the heat to medium-low
5. Add the apple and and bay leaf
6. Simmer for about an hour til the cabbage is very soft and the apple is no longer recognizable
7. Add the sugar and cook for a few minutes more, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper
8. Serve immediately or store in the fridge until needed

The Wine Sisters’ Pairing

Chances are, this dish is part of a bigger feast and you’re not eating it solo, though we’ve been known to do it.  But if we are just looking at this as an individual dish that needs a wine pairing, we’re going with an acidic wine like Pinot Gris or Riesling to help balance the acid in the dish.

Try: Gray Monk Pinot Gris, VQA Okanagan Valley, 2011 $19.95 Vintages 118638