Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Chestnuts

Sweet, Tart, and Bright

Painting by Craig Orback

[This classic recipe for red cabbage appeared in the print magazine in 2011.]

In cooking, the lustrous deep color of red cabbage turns blue-gray, especially if you use hard water, unless you add something acidic — wine, vinegar, and often a couple of apples. The effect, with the sweetness from the cabbage, is sweet and sour. Chestnuts, too, add their sweetness, but if you don’t have chestnuts, don’t hesitate to cook the cabbage without them. (The flavor is best if you prepare them yourself in season, although packages of precooked European chestnuts are a fair substitute.) Red cabbage is cooked this way in various parts of Central Europe; in France, it’s a common dish of Alsace. For years, I added both red wine and red-wine vinegar, as in the recipe below, and then I found that cider vinegar by itself makes the dish lighter — it depends on what you want. Wine vinegar naturally has about 7 to 8 percent acidity; cider vinegar has less, and US brands of vinegar can be watered down to as little as 4 percent acetic acid, so you need more to compensate. There’s no need to respect the exact proportions below, but be sure to taste at the end and point things up as needed. Braised red cabbage keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days and tastes at least as good on reheating. It goes with fatty pork, sausage, goose, wild boar and other game. Red cabbage served with roast goose is a traditional Austrian Christmas dinner.

1 cup cooked chestnuts may equal 125 to 150 gr

about 500 gr (1 pound) chestnuts in the shell

30 to 45 ml (2 to 3 tablespoons) goose fat (or lard or butter)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped, optional

1 head red cabbage, roughly 1.25 kilos (almost 3 pounds), outer leaves and core removed, thinly sliced

175 ml (¾ cup) water

250 ml (1 cup white) or red wine

30 to 45 ml (2 to 3 tablespoons) cider vinegar or white or red-wine vinegar

the round heads of 2 whole cloves, crushed, or a very small pinch of powdered clove

½ bay leaf

salt and pepper

2 tart apples, preferably a variety that will hold its shape in cooking

a little sugar, as needed

With a sharp knife, cut an X through the husk on the round side of each chestnut, and put the chestnuts into boiling water for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Take the chestnuts from the hot water a few at a time, squeeze each to loosen the husk, and peel off the husk and inner skin. Freshly harvested chestnuts peel easily; later in the season you may need the point of a small knife to loosen parts of the skin. If the skin clings more stubbornly as the nuts cool, return them to the hot water. Try to keep the chestnuts whole, but don’t worry if they break. Discard any that don’t smell clean and sweet — taste if you aren’t sure.

In a pot large enough to hold the cabbage, melt the fat, and add the onion and the garlic, if you use it; cook them gently until they’re translucent. Add the cabbage, water, wine, and vinegar along with the crushed or powdered clove and half bay leaf; season with salt and pepper. Simmer slowly, covered, stirring now and then, for 30 minutes.

Add the peeled chestnuts, and cook them until they’re tender, which may take another 20 minutes or more. (If you don’t have chestnuts, continue to cook the cabbage until it is almost but not quite as tender as you like it.) Meanwhile, peel and core the apples, and cut each in 4 to 8 slices. When the chestnuts are done, add the apples, and cook them until they’re tender, about 15 minutes more. Taste and, if needed, season with more salt, and add more vinegar or a touch of sugar. Serves 6 to 8.