Make Ahead

Braised Sweet and Sour Cabbage

by:
November 18, 2010
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0 Ratings
Braised Sweet and Sour Cabbage
  • Makes 1 big pot
Author Notes

This is comfort food at its best: silky, soft red cabbage, braised in a sweet-sour mix of red wine and red wine vinegar, red onions, tomatoes, and some brown sugar. But hey, it's Thanksgiving, so let's doll this up, shall we? A sprinkling of pomegranate seeds give the finished dish some bling. The vivid red color of the cabbage makes this a welcome accompaniment to any Thanksgiving plate, vegetarian or not. —Rivka

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups red onions, sliced thinly ( I needed 2 medium onions)
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 large red cabbage, halved, cored, and sliced thinly
  • 1 apple, cored and roughly chopped
  • 3 cups canned tomatoes
  • 2/3 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup red wine (whatever's open)
  • water
  • salt and pepper
  • seeds from 1 pomegranate
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
  2. In very large heavy pot or dutch oven, saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until translucent and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over mixture and stir to incorporate.
  3. Add cabbage, apple, tomatoes, cranberries, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, red wine, and 2 cups of water. Cover the pot, and leave unattended for about 10 minutes. When you return, the cabbage will have softened, and the other ingredients will have started to come together.
  4. Transfer pot with cabbage to a 300-degree oven. Cover, and cook until cabbage is wilted and soft, about 1 hour. Check occasionally; you may need to add water to prevent sticking. I used about 2 3/4 cups of water in all.
  5. Remove cabbage from the oven. Taste cabbage, and season with salt and pepper as necessary. Serve cabbage warm, in a pretty casserole (mine was burnt orange) dotted with pomegranate seeds.
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Rivka
I'm a healthcare consultant by day, food blogger by night, and I make a mean veggie chili. I'm eat a mostly-vegetarian diet, but have a soft spot for meat, especially braised short ribs. And this profile wouldn't be complete without an admission that I absolutely am addicted to cookies and chocolate. Finally, I love the idea of food52 and can't wait to share and read my and others' favorite recipes!

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1 Review

chris
chris October 13, 2014
I needed a side dish for goulash, with spaetzle, and this looked like it would work, nicely. I chose to omit the tomatoes and cranberries, but followed everything else, as written. Very tasty, and worked well with the rest of the meal. The pomegranate seeds ('tis the season!) were genius; they made that humble bowl of braised cabbage really shine.