Recipe Rotkohl: German Red Cabbage

[Mountain Cat]

Ah, home-grown red cabbage! (And, onion…) Unfortunately, the red color gets lost with extended cooking!

The inspiration recipe – I have to say I modified this just enough that you have to blame me if you don’t like mine.

How to Make Great German Rotkohl (Cooked Red Cabbage)

The Spruce Eats typically has great, well-planned recipes, so I figured I’d try one of theirs for this veggie, in an ongoing effort to build meals around specific things that happen to be at hand. My cabbage patch did well this year, and so…

Today’s victim is the cabbage plant to the far right. I slaughtered him by slicing down at the neck where his stem entered the ground, and brought him indoors for a good rinsing. Hunkering behind him was a small baby, whom I also pegged for the meal. Meanwhile, I also ripped two living onions out of the soil by their roots. Both were on the smallish side of medium but of sufficient size and solidity to make my mouth water.

(You should be glad I won’t raise Cabbage Path Dolls… ) There’s a part of me that wonders what a spruce tree REALLY eats! I haven’t found any on my property to ask.

The original recipe uses a quarter cup apple juice instead of water. I didn’t feel like wasting (and I would have, as that stuff is just too sweet and boring to consume much of) a whole bottle of apple juice for one quarter cup of the stuff – now, if i could make my own fresh and unsweetened apple cider!; that stuff is GOOD! Also discovered I didn’t have an open bottle of red wine (and what I have closed up I don’t want to cook with). So.. the alcohol changed. I also did slightly modify some amounts of ingredients based on personal taste.

I know maple syrup isn’t German, but I’ve made my own here last winter, and I figure – that flavor ain’t going to hurt! (Agave, a suggestion from the source recipe, isn’t German, either. Adapt with sense and sensibility!)

Prep Time: 15 minutes.
Cook Time: 2-3 hours.
Rest Time: None.
Cuisine: German.
Serves: 2-3 as a side.
Leftovers? Yes, easy.

Rotkohl: German Red Cabbage​

INGREDIENTS:

• 1.5 ounces raw bacon (either American or German Bauchspeck) I am not familiar with the latter, but keeping this as an option for those of you who are, and as a reminder to try to find some for my own tastings.
• 2 small/medium diced onions
• 2 cups, about 1/2 pound, shredded red cabbage
• 1/4 cup dry red wine (or, dry Vermouth)
• 1/4 cup water. (Or, you could use apple juice….)
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (or sugar, agave nectar or honey)
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 3 whole cloves
• Ground black pepper to taste
• 1 apple (cored and quartered – peeling is optional)

METHOD:

Brown the bacon in a pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add the shredded red cabbage and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Pour in the half-cup red wine and the water or apple juice to deglaze, using a spatula to help.

Then, add the your sweetness source, the bay leaf, and everything else. Gently mix.

Simmer on stove top for 2 to 3 hours, stirring ever so often. Keep the liquids one finger width (1/2 inch) deep, adding extra water as required. I tended to the 2 hour mark.

Adjust seasonings, and allow some of the liquid to cook off if needed, just before the dish finishes. Remove the bay leaf, and serve hot.

Serve as a side, and enjoy.