Sweet and Sour Braised Cabbage

I'm kind of a grazer when it comes to recipes. If I see something that catches my eye (or my stomach really), I think of what I'd do differently and see if anyone's done it that way and then see if that inspires me to look at some other way to tweak the recipe. In the end, I have a recipe that is what I think of as the best of several recipes.

 

I'm a big fan of Health-Bent. Megan and Brandon come across as nice people and they always have great looking recipes. My father's side of the family is German, so I have sauerkraut juice running through my veins. When I saw this quick kraut recipe over at HB, I knew I had to try it out. But then, what about adding some caraway seeds - you know, like you'd find in rye bread which is fantastic with a Reuben? So I searched. Then I found a recipe with apples, onion, and caraway seeds. Mmmmm. But it used vegetable oil, too much apple when I'm trying to be low carb, not enough apple cider vinegar, and honey where it's not needed. After some tweaking, here's what I ended up with.

 

Ingredients:

• 1 T. butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1/2 - 2/3 of a large cabbage, shredded, similar to sauerkraut (I used what was left over after making Primal Stuffed Cabbage)
• 1 small to medium granny smith apple - a little sweet, a little tart - peeled, cored, and sliced into thick matchsticks (I quartered the apple and then sliced each piece of apple in thirds horizontally before slicing vertically)
• 6 T. apple cider vinegar
• 1 t. caraway seeds
• 1 c. liquid (water, chicken or veg stock or broth - whatever you have handy)
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

Melt the butter over a pan on medium heat. Add the caraway seeds and cook for 1 minute to let the heat help make them fragrant. Add the sliced onion, apple matchsticks, and shredded cabbage. Toss everything together and put a lid on the pot. Let the cabbage wilt down a bit over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir the mixture, add the AC vinegar and liquid, give it another stir, and replace the lid. Let cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, until everything has wilted down and is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. My batch made about 3 cups.

 

Eat! Enjoy!

 

P.S. - I thought it was better the second and third day. To reheat, I put it in a saute pan with some sliced, cooked bratwurst that I'd cooked at the same time I was braising the cabbage. Delicious.