Cider-Braised Cabbage with Apples and Fennel

This is another recipe from Rowan Jacobsen’s Apples of Uncommon Character.  He suggests making it with russet apples, but the russet slices take so long to soften that the other ingredients lose their bite. Oddly, the picture in Rowan’s book shows the dish made with a red-skinned apple, not a russet. So try this with a firm, but not hard, red-skinned cooking apple – the resulting colors in your serving bowl will be spectacular, and you’ll be happier with the resulting texture of the apple slices.

Ingredients:

  • 4 Tbs butter, cut into pieces

  • 1 tsp caraway seeds

  • ½ head red cabbage, core removed and thinly sliced

  • ½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced (reserve fronds)

  • 1 large firm apple, cored, halved and sliced

  • 1 cup of sweet cider

  • salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet with a lid melt 2 Tbsp of the butter over medium heat.

  2. Add the caraway seeds and toast until fragrant (about 30 seconds), shaking the pan once or twice.

  3. Add the sweet cider, and simmer till reduced by two-thirds.

  4. Add the cabbage and the fennel, and sauté two minutes.

  5. Add the apple slices, cover the skillet, and cook until the cabbage has softened but still retains some crunch, about 6 minutes. Stir occasionally.

  6. Remove the lid from the skillet, add the remaining 2 Tbs of butter, turn the heat to high, and sauté until the liquid has evaporated and the cabbage is coated in sauce, 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  7. Serve garnished with fennel fronds.