My Opa (and the inspirational acronym for this website) was a German icon. He was a teacher, travel enthusiast and ultimate grandfather. And he LOVED being German. He boasted about his heritage in virtually every way; leading annual excursions of tourists to the motherland, sharing German delicacies, telling war stories and reminiscent memories of his childhood – all inevitably followed by that unmistakeable deep, jolly, gutteral laugh.
Whenever you walked into his home a familiar smell and warmth enveloped you. What was cooking today? Rouladin? Schnitzel? Red Cabbage? Ya dahling.
Sometimes those nostalgic recollections bring you back to a place you know you’ll never get to visit again. And although I may not get to experience that affection the same way, in this case, I found the recipe (and his old clove jar) and brought it home.
Fire up the Dutch oven. Throw on your lederhosen. We’re going to Germany today.
Takes 25 min + 2-3hr. cooking time; Feeds you and a lot of German relatives
Ingredients
- 1 large head of red cabbage, shredded
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 4 cloves
- 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 large sweet onion, small dice
- 3 small honey crisp apples, small dice
- 1 package of prosciutto or bacon cooked crispy and reserved fat (about 1/2 cup)
- 1 stick salted butter
- 1 knob of schmaltz (or pig fat if you can get some) – optional
- 3 tbsp corn starch
- Salt and pepper
Method
Cook prosciutto/bacon in a Dutch oven until crispy. Remove from pan, reserving all fat drippings. Eat those scrumptious porky chips. You don’t need the meat for this recipe, so munch away while you work.
Add 1/3 of the butter/schmaltz and onion to the fat and sauté over medium heat with salt and pepper until onion begins to caramelize (about 15 minutes). This is a tender step – you don’t want to burn the onion, so watch carefully and stir often.
Add cooked onion and apples to a Dutch oven, adding more butter as necessary. Cook for another 10 minutes until apples begin to soften.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, use the shredding blade and chop red cabbage. Add to the onion and apple mixture along with water.
Cook the cabbage down on medium low heat (it will shrink a lot!) for a few minutes. Once it slightly begins to soften, add sugar, vinegar, cloves, bay leaves and re-season with salt and pepper.
The cabbage will release water of its own and will look aqueous initially. Just keep cooking it – for at least 3 hours (but up to 8), adding the cornstarch after about an hour. Stir occasionally and tweak seasoning.
Now, do yourself a big favor; don’t eat the cloves or bay leaves. I may be warning from experience.
Close your eyes. Take in a deep breath. Smells like his home.
Need more delicious German recipes? How about my incredible Oktoberfest Pretzels and Raclette Beer Dip? Don’t feel like cooking? That’s ok go to Das Stein Haus.
