This is a good, cheap, easy side dish. Oddly enough, I always make this cabbage recipe with the Pasta with Greens in the Italian section. I know it sounds like a odd combination, and it is, but it works for some reason. Of course, I also like sweet pickle and mayonnaise sandwiches and mustard on my corn, so maybe I’m not the person to listen to.
We also like putting Huy Fong Sriracha sauce on top. Again, it might sound weird, but the sweet, sour, and heat work well together. And really, isn’t Huy Fong, or Rooster Sauce as we call it, great on everything?
Aside from having this with Pasta with Greens, I just started another tradition in our house a couple years ago. Christy’s grandmother would always say, “You have to eat sauerkraut on New Years Day. It’s for good luck.”. Of course, we never ate hers after we stopped eating meat. I’m not sure what kind of meat she put in it, but people who do eat meat, never understand why people who do not eat meat will not eat something that has meat in it. “Well you can just pick it out” they say. Her aunt once said, “You can still eat turkey though, right?”. God bless them.
Anyway, I’m getting off the subject. With her grandmothers promises of good fortune, we kept her tradition of always eating sauerkraut on New Years day, but a couple years ago, I expanded the tradition. Do you know how Italians have the Feast of the Seven Fishes? Well, we have the Three Cabbages every New Years dinner: The red cabbage on this page, sauerkraut, and this other cabbage side I make, which is just a chopped head of green cabbage braised in a pot, about half a bulb of chopped garlic, about half a stick of butter, and a bunch of black pepper. Salt to taste. I wonder if our kids will carry on our tradition?
1 med. size head red cabbage, cut in 1/4-inch strips about 2 inches long
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
1 onion, diced
1/4 c. white sugar (or to taste)
3 tbsp. corn oil
1 cooking apple, diced and peeled
Water, if needed during cooking
Directions
Saute onion in oil until opaque. Add cabbage, apple, and vinegar and simmer covered on very low heat 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then add sugar and season to taste. (If it is too dry, add a little water during cooking to prevent burning.)