Sauteed Apple and Red Cabbage

For thousands of years, traditional eating patterns in many cultures have featured a plethora of ingredients that give people a variety of colorful food, nutrients, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. The phrase “eat the rainbow” is a statement to encourage people to embrace and diversify their diet. Some vegetables yield the most nutrition when eaten raw; however, some vegetables, like carrots, apples, and cabbage, release nutrients with cooked. Cooked apples are a good source of vitamin C, cooked carrots vitamin A, and cooked red cabbage vitamin K, folate, potassium, and magnesium. Plus, all these plant foods are excellent sources of digestible fiber. With that being said, the “red cabbage” in this dish will give it a beautiful purple color. The color comes from the flavonoid anthocyanin, which has shown to be beneficial for the cardiovascular system and helps lower blood pressure. It will provide a layer of flavor and color to any plate you serve your family or guests. Good and good for you, I say!

It is a great side dish for any meat entree: pork tenderloin, German sausages, roasted chicken, or wild game meat like quail, duck, or goose if you are lucky enough to access these.

Sautéed Apples and Red Cabbage

Ingredients

4 medium tart apples (about 2 cups when cut up)

1 medium red cabbage (about 8 cups when cut up)

1 large carrot shredded

1 large shallot or other onion finely diced

1/3 cup butter plus a splash of olive oil or spoon full of bacon grease

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp. sugar

2-3 shakes of red pepper (more if you like spicy flavors)

1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Instructions

1.      Peel and cube apples into roughly half-inch cube squares

2.      Cut cabbage in half, cut out the core, then cut into half-inch ribbons.

3.      Peel off the outer layer of shallot (or onion), then finely dice

All of this will cook down nicely into edible bites.

4.      In a stock pot melt butter and add bacon grease or olive oil

5.      Layer the veggies: cabbage, apples, and shallots in the stock pot and mix around to coat the veggies with the butter

6.      Turn burner to low (3 out of 10) and cover stock pot for 20 minutes, but frequently stir every 5 - 10 minutes

7.      Sprinkle with salt and seasonings and thoroughly mix, flipping the bottom veggies to the top and getting the top veggies to the bottom.

8.      In a small bowl dissolve sugar in the vinegar, sprinkle in the red pepper, then add to the cabbage mixture and mix well.

9.      Cover with a lid and cook slowly, again, for another 20 minutes; stirring frequently

10.  Stir in the nuts or save just to add to the top of the dish as it is served.

11.  Let cool a bit before serving. The flavor with be enhanced if it is warm but not too hot.