Red Cabbage Braised with Apples and Chestnuts

By John, 11 November, 2022
Region
France
Description

"Red cabbage with chestnuts and apples"This Chou Rouge a la Limousine is a wonderful hearty fall-and-winter recipe to accompany roast pork or pork sausages, or roast goose. It's one of my favorite things to prepare when the cold weather finally returns to Plymouth!

It's easy to turn this into a full Porc Braise aux Choux Rouges dinner by cooking a 3-lb pork loin in with the cabbage.

Yield
6 Servings
Preparation time
15 minutes
Cooking time
5 hours
Total time
5 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients
4 oz Bacon Slices (uncured or applewood smoked, not hickory)
1⁄2 c carrots (thinly sliced)
1 c Onion (thinly sliced)
3 T Butter (or goose fat, or bacon fat)
2 lb Red Cabbage (sliced into 1/2-inch ribbons)
2 c Tart Apples (diced, unpeeled is OK)
2 clv Garlic (crushed)
1 Bay Leaf
1⁄2 t Salt
1 pn ground cloves
1 pn ground nutmeg
1 pn Fresh-ground Black Pepper
2 c Dry Red Wine (Chianti or similar)
2 c Beef Stock
3 lb Chestnuts ((optional) previously marinated if possible)
3 Pork Loin ((optional) previously marinated if possible)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325.
  2. In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot, cook the bacon until it renders its fat, then add the other fat. When it's hot, add the carrots and onions. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, to soften but not brown.
  3. Stir in the cabbage to get it well coated with the flavored fat. The simmer it for 10 minutes to soften it.
  4. Add the apple, garlic, herbs, wine and stock and mix well. Bring to a simmer, then cover it and ser it in the oven. 
  5. Simmer in the oven for 3 hours. Check to keep it at a gentle simmer and adjust the heat as needed. 
  6. (Optional) If you want to cook a pork loin in the cabbage, sear it in a separate pan and nestle it into the cabbage at the three-hour mark, and put a thermometer in the pork.
  7. After another 30 minutes, stir in the chestnuts. Cover and let it cook for another 90 minutes or so.
  8. Remove the pork when it's finished. If there is any liquid remaining in the bottom of the pot, let it cook in the oven or on the stovetop until it's pretty well gone.
  9. Serve hot. If you cooked the pork with it, then carve it and serve it on the side.
Source

Mastering the Art of French Cooking