The quintessential Christmas Side Dish in Hungary. I recall one year Vera neni couldn't get purple cabbage, so she cooked white cabbage for the Christmas Eve meal. She kept apologizing to everyone at the dinner table for serving white cabbage... I thought the white cabbage was fine. My concern was the breaded deep fried carp. For one day of the year I became a vegetarian.
1957 Christmas Eve [My mom and Jetti neni] at the table
PURPLE CABBAGE
1/2 red cabbage
2 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp caraway seeds
ground pepper to taste
vinegar to taste
• Thinly slice or coarsely shred the cabbage.
• Pour 1/4 cup of water on the cabbage and toss.
• Generously sprinkle with salt and toss.
• Let salted cabbage stand for 2 hours.
• With clean hands squeeze out all the moisture.
• In a saucepan, heat up the oil.
• Add the cabbage, sugar, caraway seeds and ground pepper.
• Do NOT add water. Cover and SLOWLY simmer.
• When the cabbage is “crunchy tender”, stir in a little vinegar to taste.
• Serve hot.
For those who are no fan of caraway seeds, grinding the seeds in a spice mill or in a coffee grinder is most beneficial.
2 Tbsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp caraway seeds
ground pepper to taste
vinegar to taste
• Thinly slice or coarsely shred the cabbage.
• Pour 1/4 cup of water on the cabbage and toss.
• Generously sprinkle with salt and toss.
• Let salted cabbage stand for 2 hours.
• With clean hands squeeze out all the moisture.
• In a saucepan, heat up the oil.
• Add the cabbage, sugar, caraway seeds and ground pepper.
• Do NOT add water. Cover and SLOWLY simmer.
• When the cabbage is “crunchy tender”, stir in a little vinegar to taste.
• Serve hot.
For those who are no fan of caraway seeds, grinding the seeds in a spice mill or in a coffee grinder is most beneficial.
and when fresh fruit is in abundance:
I treated 1 cup of chopped apricots with 1/2 Tbsp Fruit Fresh and 3 Tbsp sugar and let it stand for half an hour. Then I added the apricots to the pot just before serving. Very nice.
