German Red Cabbage: Rotkohl

The main term for this very traditional German dish in German is "Rotkohl" (literally in English, "red cole"), but another common term is "Rotkraut," * but then there is also "Blaukraut," used in parts of southern Germany and parts of Austria, while in a few parts of Switzerland it is called "Rotkabis" (see Word History, below). Red cabbage is often one of the dishes on many German tables around Christmas.   

Ingredients (6 to 8 servings):

2 tablespoons butter (some use lard or goose fat)
3 tablespoons sugar (use 4 tablespoons if you prefer the cabbage somewhat sweeter, but add 4th later)
1 large head red cabbage, chopped
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 onion (baseball size), peeled and chopped
1 large apple, cored and chopped (I leave the peel on, but you can peel it)
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
2 to 4 tablespoons flour
2 cups beef broth
2 cups red wine
1 teaspoon salt (if the beef broth is salty, you can omit this or add just 1/2 teaspoon)

Core the cabbage and chop it. In a pan or large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the sugar. Let the sugar dissolve into the butter. Add the onion and cook just a couple of minutes for it to begin to soften. Add the red cabbage and the red wine vinegar. It is important to add the vinegar and to stir to have the cabbage hold its color. Add the chopped apple. Let everything cook until the cabbage cooks down a little. Add the cinnamon stick, the cloves and the bay leaves, then add the broth and the wine. Bring to a gentle simmer (adjust heat to keep it at this simmer) and let cook until the cabbage is tender. Add the salt, if using, and taste to see if the dish needs more sugar. Depending upon how much the liquid has cooked down, sprinkle 2 to 4 tablespoons flour over the cabbage, then gently stir it into the mixture. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick before serving.  


* For the history of the word "kraut," here is the link to the article with that Word History: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/05/german-question-part-twelve.html

 

Red cabbage with duck breast ...

I had some red cabbage with a pork chop and mashed potatoes...

 

WORD HISTORY: 

Cabbage-This word is distantly related to quite a number of words, including "head," a word from theGermanic roots of English, as well as to "cap," a word derived from Latin, but borrowed by Old Germanic and then perpetuated by many of its offspring. It goes back to Indo European "kauput," which meant "head." This gave Italic and its offspring, Latin, "caput," with the same meaning. This passed to Latin-based Old French as "caboce." This was taken to England by the Normans as "caboche," with the additional meaning, "cabbage." The word was borrowed by English with the "caboche" spelling in the last quarter of the 1300s, but it didn't overtake the native English word "cole" (but a long ago borrowing into Germanic from Latin) until the second half of the 1400s. In parts of the Rhineland in Germany they use the word "Kappes" for cabbage, and it is derived from Latin, as is Swiss German dialect "Kabis."