I was ever so happy to find this recipe. I suspect it is much like the red cabbage that my Swiss grandmother used to make - and that I’ve never been able to duplicate. (Unfortunately, my Swiss grandmother seemed to think that she shouldn’t tell us how she made things, or we might not have to visit in order to taste such delicacies. As a result, most of my favourites from her repertoire disappeared when she died.)

Families are odd, aren’t they? But I digress.

The recipe I found was posted on Simply Recipes. The site is written by Elise Bauer, who could be my sister. (No kidding! We are both dark blond Germanic types, with glasses.) She claims an Austrian background, and notes that she grew up eating many traditional German and Austrian dishes. Well, Austria is just across the border from where my father’s family originated in Switzerland, where they too live on a cadre of Germanic style food - including red cabbage.

Red cabbage was a delight for me when I was a child. My grandmother would make it with stewed rabbit or chicken and lots of potatoes. (If you know Germanic cooking of any kind, you’ll know that potatoes are the centerpiece of a meal - along with bread, of course.) I’d eat the potatoes (obligatory) and then the chicken or rabbit (much better) and would leave the red cabbage for last.

You have to leave the right taste in your mouth to end your meal, after all.

As I grew up, I’d go looking for red cabbage in restaurants - but never had any that had the right taste. It would come with apples (which was too sweet) or with raisins (even worse). It would have too strong a vinegar taste (probably white vinegar) or would be gummed up with some kind of sauce (yuck). What I wanted was the taste of the red cabbage, enhanced with just the right amount of sour and a hint of sweet, and perhaps a bit of oil or butter to bring out the flavour and help everything mingle.

Then I found the Simply Recipes site.

The ingredient list for Bauer’s recipe is deceptively short: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter; 1 2-pound red cabbage, thinly sliced; 6 Tbsp sugar; and, 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar. However, that is exactly what I was looking for. My grandmother never needed a lot of ingredients to make her magic. She just needed the right combination, lovingly tended.

It’s also a great recipe for folks with allergies. A couple of substitutions will make it both casein and sulfite free. Simply exchange the butter for expeller-pressed coconut oil and the balsamic vinegar for apple cider vinegar. (You might have to experiment a bit if you switch out the balsamic vinegar. I suspect balsamic is a milder vinegar flavour and isn’t as strong as a cider vinegar. Having said that, I’m sure my grandmother never cooked with balsamic vinegar in her life so it could end up being more true to my family’s original recipe.)

If you want to make Bauer’s version, here are her instructions:

Melt the butter (or coconut oil) in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and toss the cabbage to coat it evenly. Add vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until cabbage is tender, stirring often, for about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

And that’s it!

I’ve got a head of red cabbage at home in the fridge, right now. I’ll tell you how it turns out.