German Red Cabbage

This is a recipe that my mom has made before and that I absolutely love.  She made it as a side dish for schnitzel with spätzle, which it is typical with.

This recipe is really easy. The originally recipe called to use whole peppercorns, allspice, and cloves, and add them to a bag with the bay leaf and remove them after cooking.  I already had ground cloves and a pepper grinder, and adding the ground version worked just fine for me.  I also didn't have allspice and didn't want to pay $6 for a tiny little jar so I used 1/4 tsp of cinnamon instead.

On that note, I did discover an amazing money-saving tip! At World Market, ANY spice, in a big jar, is only $2.99! Unfortunately they didn't have any allspice, but I was able to pick up some of the spices I needed for the rest of this meal.

This cabbage turned out delicious! The apple and sugar make it a little bit sweet and cooking the cabbage down for a long time gives it a different flavor and texture than when I make slaw.  I started the cabbage cooking and then just left it on low on the back burner while I made the rest of dinner - I only stirred it a couple times but mostly let it do its thing.  I love food that takes care of itself!

So what did I made to eat with this cabbage?  You'll have to stay tuned to see!

German Red Cabbage
Adjusted from All Recipes
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients: 

1/2 medium head red cabbage, cored and sliced

1 large tart apples, peeled and sliced

1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced and separated into rings

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp ground peppercorns

1 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 bay leaf

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cold water

Directions:

In a Dutch oven, toss cabbage, apples and onion. Add water, vinegar, sugar, butter and salt. Add the peppercorns, allspice, cloves and bay leaf. Add to Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 hours.

Remove bay leaf. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir in cabbage mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.