Apple and red cabbage

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 m.-large red cabbage
• 500 ml apple juice, as needed
• 3 onions
• 10 cloves
• 10 juniper berries
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 stalk(s) cinnamon
• 1 star anise
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Salt
• 500 g apples, peeled and cored (alternatively apple sauce or compote)
• some fat (e.g. vegetable oil or clarified butter)
• e.g. wine (red wine or cider)
• e.g. lemon juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 25 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 25 minutes

festive side dish with Christmas spices

Remove the outer leaves from the red cabbage, quarter the head, remove the stalk, and slice or grate into very thin strips (I do this with a food processor). Peel the onions, dice one onion, and stud the other two with 5 cloves each. Heat a little fat in a large pot and let the diced onions become translucent (not brown). Add the two whole onions, studded with cloves, to the pot. Gradually add the red cabbage, the remaining spices (bay leaves, juniper berries, cinnamon stick, star anise), sugar, and a little apple juice, and season with salt. Simmer over medium to low heat for about 2 hours. Ensure there is enough liquid; add more apple juice if necessary. In the meantime, peel the apples and either dice, grate, or slice them. After 2 hours, add the apples (or applesauce/compote) and simmer for about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and sugar. Remove the spices before serving. TIPS: – If you pre-cook the red cabbage the day before, you can stop after the 2 hours and add the apples the next day. (It tastes even better the second day than the first, because everything has been nicely infused, and it doesn’t need to cook for another hour 😉 ) – If you want it a bit more savory, you can replace about 1/3 of the apple juice with wine. – The red cabbage will turn very purple. If you prefer a slightly lighter, redder color, add a few drops of lemon juice at the beginning (I don’t).