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Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Star Anise

Published on November 21, 2015 • Last updated November 3, 2024 by Elizabeth
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

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.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 70 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • Ingredients
  • Instructions
  • Braised Red Cabbage with Star Anise
  • Other Sunday dinner side dishes you might like

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

↓ Jump to the full, printable recipe. ↓

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. Peel and halve 1 large red onion, and finely slice into half rings. Set aside.
  3. Peel and dice 2 Cox apples. Set aside.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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

Batch cook this cinnamon, star anise and allspice spiced braised red cabbage recipe and freeze for later.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Central European
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 136kcal
Author: Elizabeth

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

Affiliate Links

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Equipment

1 large saucepan
1 measuring jug
1 wooden spoon
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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, 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

Calories: 136kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 439mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 1618IU | Vitamin C: 83mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 1mg

Other Sunday dinner side dishes you might like

How to make Green Beans Almondine: a Classic French Dish

Creamy Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Chives

Roasted Baby Carrots with Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele

Roasted Baby Carrots with Grana Padano and Prosciutto di San Daniele

Baked Parsnips with Lancashire Cheese by Kavey Eats
Maple-glazed Sprout Tops with Crispy Pork and Creamy Polenta by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary
Cauliflower Broccoli Cheese by Recipes from a Pantry
Three Variations on Potato Dauphinoise by Kavey Eats

Category: Christmas Recipes, Recipe

About Elizabeth

Solivagant. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

Previous Post:Maple Glazed Sprout Tops and Streaky Pork with Creamy PolentaMaple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts Tops, Crispy Pork and Creamy Polenta
Next Post:Bramley Apple CrumbleBramley Apple Crumble

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Heather Haigh

    February 10, 2016 at 1:48 am

    I do like red cabbage and this seems like a great way to flavour it.

    Reply
  2. Maya Russell

    February 7, 2016 at 9:44 am

    I love red cabbage. I’ve not made it before with star anise. I’ll remember this for next time.

    Reply
  3. don erwood

    February 3, 2016 at 9:01 pm

    I think red cabbage will become one of the fashionable superfoods of 2016. This recipe looks really tempting too.

    Reply
  4. plasterer bristol

    December 17, 2015 at 7:46 am

    Yummy!! not tried this before, sounds lovely. Thanks for sharing.

    Simon

    Reply
  5. Petra @ CrumblesAndKale

    November 30, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Finally know what to make with that pice of red cabbage laying around in my fridge, thank you!

    Reply
  6. www.freelancehouse.co.uk

    November 24, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    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.

    Reply
  7. Corina

    November 23, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    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.

    Reply
  8. Divya Prakash

    November 23, 2015 at 11:40 am

    I love red cabbage and this looks so pretty and tasty.

    Reply
  9. Sandi (@sandigtweets)

    November 23, 2015 at 1:17 am

    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.

    Reply
  10. Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry

    November 22, 2015 at 11:38 pm

    Such a beautiful photo Elizabeth. I love the idea of adding star anise to red cabbage. makes it so much more Christmassy.

    Reply
  11. Marlys (This and That)

    November 22, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    This sounds absolutely amazing. I love anise star and it sounds like a wonderful spice for this dish.

    Reply
  12. Janice

    November 22, 2015 at 6:47 pm

    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.

    Reply
  13. Katerina

    November 22, 2015 at 7:33 am

    I love my slow cooker and I will keep this to try!

    Reply
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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Cooking up a storm at the edge of the world

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