Braised Red Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1 red cabbage, cored and finely shredded
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 apples, peeled and grated
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp cider vinegar
• 40 g brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 star anise
• zest and juice of 1 orange

Method

1. Soften the onion

   Cook the onion in the oil in a large heavy pan until soft and translucent.

   8 min

2. Add the cabbage and apple

   Pile in the shredded cabbage and grated apple. It will look like far too much for the pan; it collapses to about a third of the volume.

3. Sweet, sour, spice

   Add the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, star anise, orange zest and juice, and a good pinch of salt. The vinegar is not only for flavour — acid is what keeps red cabbage red instead of turning it a dull blue-grey.

4. Braise low

   Cover and cook on the lowest heat, stirring occasionally, until completely tender and glossy. Add a splash of water if it looks dry before it is done.

   1 h

5. Reduce and rest

   Take the lid off for the last 10 minutes to cook off any watery liquid, and check the sweet-sour balance. It is better the next day, and it freezes well.

   10 min