This recipe for braised red cabbage with apples and star anise offers a tender and flavourful side dish. Sweet red cabbage is enriched with the warm, aromatic essence of star anise, cinnamon and other herbs, complemented by red wine vinegar and dark muscovado sugar.
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This braised red cabbage with apples and star anise recipe is a delightful side dish that combines the natural sweetness of red cabbage with the warm, aromatic notes of star anise. The cabbage is thinly sliced and slowly cooked with red wine vinegar, dark muscovado sugar, crisp cox apples and red onions, which enhance its flavour.
The star anise infuses the dish with a subtle liquorice-like aroma, adding depth and complexity. The result is a tender, flavorful side dish that pairs well with roasted meats and can be enjoyed warm or at room temperature.
Ingredients
- 1 kg red cabbage
- 1 large red onion
- 50 grams butter
- 2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
- 2 Cox apples
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 whole star anise
- 5 whole allspice berries or juniper berries
- 3 bay leaves
- 100 ml good quality beef stock
- 1 orange juice only
- Sea salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Discard the 3 or 4 tough outer leaves of 1 kg red cabbage, cut in half and remove the core. Either finely shred the cabbage or coarsely chop it if you prefer a little extra texture. Set aside.
- Peel and halve 1 large red onion, and finely slice into half rings. Set aside.
- Peel and dice 2 Cox apples. Set aside.
- Melt 50 grams butter in a large saucepan and fry the sliced red onion for five to seven minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion softens but does not colour.
- Add 2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 5 whole allspice berries or juniper berries, 3 bay leaves, 100 ml good quality beef stock the juice of 1 orange. Stir well to combine.
- Season well to taste with Shetland sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and simmer gently for at least 60 minutes, checking the liquid level often. Add more stock if it looks too dry.
Recipe Difficulty Levels
Easy
Requires basic cooking skills and ingredients you most likely already have in your kitchen.
Moderate
Requires more experience, preparation and/or cooking time. You may have to source special ingredients.
Challenging
Recipes requiring more advanced skills and experience and maybe some special equipment.
Braised Red Cabbage with Star Anise
Ingredients
- 1 kg red cabbage
- 1 large red onion
- 50 grams butter
- 2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
- 2 Cox apples
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 star anise
- 5 whole allspice berries or juniper berries
- 3 bay leaves
- 100 ml good quality beef stock
- 1 orange juice only
- Shetland sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
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Equipment
Instructions
- Discard the 3 or 4 tough outer leaves of 1 kg red cabbage, cut in half and remove the core. Either finely shred the cabbage or, if you prefer a little extra texture, coarsely chop it. Set aside.
- Peel and halve 1 large red onion, and finely slice into half rings. Set aside.
- Peel and dice 2 Cox apples.
- Melt 50 grams butter in a large saucepan and fry the sliced red onion for five to seven minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion softens but does not colour.
- Add 2 tbsp dark muscovado sugar, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise, 5 whole allspice berries or juniper berries, 3 bay leaves, 100 ml good quality beef stock the juice of 1 orange. Stir well to combine.
- Season well to taste with Shetland sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pop the lid on and simmer gently for at least 60 minutes, checking the liquid level often. Add more stock if it's looking too dry.
Nutrition
Other Sunday dinner side dishes you might like
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I do like red cabbage and this seems like a great way to flavour it.
I love red cabbage. I’ve not made it before with star anise. I’ll remember this for next time.
I think red cabbage will become one of the fashionable superfoods of 2016. This recipe looks really tempting too.
Yummy!! not tried this before, sounds lovely. Thanks for sharing.
Simon
Finally know what to make with that pice of red cabbage laying around in my fridge, thank you!
The cabbage is slow cooking. I’m waiting for my hubby from work and our children are playing football in the yard. A perfect evening, isn’t it. Like your blog.
I rarely cook cabbage but this looks gorgeous and I love the spices you’ve used in it. The Multicooker sounds great as I love my slow cooker but like the sound of something you can do even more things with. Thank you for linking up with Cook Once Eat Twice.
I love red cabbage and this looks so pretty and tasty.
This recipe is too pretty not to be shared around. I love purple cabbage and the though of combining it with star anise is fabulous.
Such a beautiful photo Elizabeth. I love the idea of adding star anise to red cabbage. makes it so much more Christmassy.
This sounds absolutely amazing. I love anise star and it sounds like a wonderful spice for this dish.
That’s so funny, Elizabeth. I made braised red cabbage in my slow cooker yesterday, cinnamon stick and cloves but otherwise pretty much the same. We also had a view of the first snow fall on the hills. Thanks for joining us for the Slow Cooked Challenge.
I love my slow cooker and I will keep this to try!