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Braised Red Cabbage with Onion, Apples and Pomegranate Molasses (or Balsamic Vinegar)

I love getting fresh, seasonal produce delivered to my door (even better if you can grow yourself, of course) and the surprise element of it. I try not to check what will be delivered in my veg box that week and enjoy getting a surprise. I can be quite traditional (and perhaps boring) going for the same/similar vegetables when I shop, so an unusual veg appearing in my box is inspiring and gets me out of my comfort zone.

I got organic red cabbage, lovely cooking apples and red onions last week- I don’t recall buying red cabbage before and it was nice to experiment with it. Thanks to the recipe provided by Abel&Cole; for inspiration, I came out with this recipe. Pomegranate molasses add a wonderful, sharp sweet and sour flavor to the cabbage, and a good balsamic vinegar does a wonderful job if you can’t get the pomegranate molasses. The marriage of caramelized red onions, Bramley apples and the red cabbage is just heavenly. Beautiful, vibrant colors and a sensational taste. We enjoyed it with grilled fish, grilled meat and as a side to pasta dishes. Easy, healthy and delicious, really worth trying. You can prepare ahead of time, and the leftovers can be frozen successfully, joy to the world:)

Serves 6-8
Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 1/2 hrs

1 medium red cabbage, quartered, cored and thinly shredded
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 cooking apples (like Bramley apples), peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons demerara sugar
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses thinned with 1/2 cup – 4 fl oz water
or
3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar with 3 tablespoons water
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F/ 180°C

Mix all the ingredients in a large baking tray (make sure they are not higher than a finger deep) Loosely cover with foil.

Bake for about 70-90 mins. Check at about 60 minutes, stir and taste. Cover and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender, juicy and sweet. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Once cool, the cabbage can be kept in fridge and reheated. It can also be frozen. This wonderful dish goes very nicely with grilled fish, sausages, roasts, fried eggs or with any sautéed vegetables.

Afiyet Olsun!

7 Responses to Braised Red Cabbage with Onion, Apples and Pomegranate Molasses (or Balsamic Vinegar)

  1. A Seasonal Cook in Turkey November 1, 2011 at 8:06 am #

    Hi Özlem! I'm surprised you haven't bought red cabbage before but when I think about it, you only see it pickled or perhaps grated in a salad here. We always have a dish pretty similar to the one you have here with the turkey for Christmas! For us, red cabbage = Christmas! But this comes from my French mother.

  2. Ozlem's Turkish Table November 2, 2011 at 1:53 pm #

    Merhaba Claudia:)
    Very nice to hear from you! You're right, my only encounter with red cabbage was grated in salads, I didn't have a chance to cook with them before. Try cooking them with a little pomegranate molasses – I am sure you get a good quality one in Turkey – the flavours really work well – what a great side for turkey for Christmas too!
    my best wishes,
    Ozlem

  3. Erica (Irene) November 3, 2011 at 4:46 pm #

    I love red cabbage……but I've only seen it in Turkey in salads and then it was just a small amout shredded but not cooked. But my grandparents being European always made it.

    Thanks for sharing your recipe.

  4. Ozlem's Turkish Table November 7, 2011 at 1:48 am #

    Merhaba Irene,
    My pleasure. We enjoy the red cabbage shredded in salads but don't cook with it much – though in the Blacksea region of Turkey, it is cooked and sometimes stuffed with aromatic rice or ground meat filling, delicious.
    Afiyet Olsun,
    Ozlem

  5. jane January 13, 2012 at 9:57 pm #

    Merhaba
    I am a expat living in turkey and wondered if you could tell me wether you can buy balsamic vinegar in turkey and what in turkish would i ask for also soya beans
    Tessekler

    • Ozlem January 14, 2012 at 12:53 pm #

      Merhaba Jane,

      Thanks for visiting the site and your comment. Makro Supermarkets in Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir especially) and Migros Supermarkets should carry Balsamic Vinegar – Balsamic Sirke – . Macro is quite an upscale market and I am pretty sure they have it. Soya Beans is trans;ates as soya fasulye, again I would try Makro or Migros Supermarket. Hope it helps, afiyet olsun!
      Ozlem

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