German Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

German Red Cabbage aka Rotkohl (pronounced rote-cole)

 Servings: about 8

This is a great dish to accompany beef, pork, or brats.  Patience is required because this dish is slow cooked but is well worth the wait!  Sweet, tangy, and colorful, it’s also a health food as it’s high in antioxidants and vitamin C.  I was asked to bring this to a German dinner party.  I can’t believe that I’ve never made this tasty side dish; so I turned to the internet and social media.  I ended up combining two recipes, one from a German friend and another from Allrecipes.  The result was delicious and got lots of “thumbs up” at the dinner party.  (a side note is that if you add too much salt, the cabbage will turn blue-ish)

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 large head red cabbage, cored and finely shredded

1 medium red onion, diced

2 large Granny Smith apples, diced

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup apple juice or apple cider (a bit more if necessary)

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce with juice

DIRECTIONS:

Place butter and onion in large pot or Dutch oven, and cook until onions are tender.

Add cabbage, apples, vinegar, and apple juice.

Season with salt, pepper and cloves.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, 1 ½ to 2 hours. (the cabbage should be moist, not soupy; if necessary, add more apple juice during the simmer process).