Sweet and Sour Cabbage

Full Belly gave me red cabbage this past week. I adapted this great recipe in my favorite vegetarian cookbook: Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It is not overly sweet or sour - just enough to show off the delicate flavor of red cabbage. Really a delicious way to have cabbage.



Sweet and Sour Cabbage

1 ½ lbs. red cabbage
½ t ground allspice
1 ½ t ground coriander
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ T oil
1 onion, diced
3 bay leaves
1 T brown sugar
Salt and & Pepper
¼ cup diced tomatoes, fresh or canned
½ cup juice from tomatoes or water
2 T balsamic vinegar

Slice cabbage into ½ inch strips (don't fret too much about this, just try to get them pretty even). Put the oil, onion, spices and bay leaves in a pan and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic at the end so it doesn't overly brown. Add the sugar and cook until it is melted. Put cabbage over the mixture, add salt and pepper (about a teaspoon). Add tomatoes and tomato juice, don't stir.  Cover and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir at this point. Add the vinegar, increase the heat and cook until most of the liquid is gone, leaving a syrupy glaze. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.