Braised Red Cabbage with Apple

From the garden

• 1 head red cabbage, quartered, cored, and thinly shredded · about 2 lb; green cabbage braises the same way, it just loses the color
• 1 large tart apple, peeled, cored, and coarsely grated
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

From the pantry

• 3 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• ⅛ tsp ground cloves · a small pinch; cloves take over quickly
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Melt the butter in a wide Dutch oven over medium heat and soften the onion with a pinch of salt, 5–6 minutes, until translucent but not browned.
2. Add the shredded cabbage in handfuls, turning each addition through the butter until it collapses enough to make room for the next. The pot will look badly overfull and will not stay that way.
3. Stir in the grated apple, vinegar, brown sugar, bay leaf, cloves, a good pinch of salt, and 1/2 cup water. The acid is what keeps red cabbage red rather than a dull blue, so do not leave it out.
4. Cover and cook over low heat 45–60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the cabbage is silky and the liquid has reduced to a glossy syrup that clings to it. Add a splash of water if the pot dries out early.
5. Uncover, pull the bay leaf, and taste: it should land sweet and sour together, not one or the other. Adjust with a little more vinegar or sugar, grind in pepper, and serve hot beside roast pork, duck, goose, or sausages.