Fried Cabbage and Apples

This is so simple, a recipe hardly seems necessary, but on the other hand, perhaps this will remind you of this side dish, estimably suited for fall and winter when the cabbage and apples are the best sorts of things to store from harvest until wanted for the table. 

Even if you aren't a farmwife with a root cellar, cabbage is inexpensive enough, and this is an excellent recipe for that apple or two you wanted to use up as it began to shrivel just slightly. In any case, it's easy enough to adjust proportions to taste. It's excellent with glazed ham, as we had it for this meal, but really any pork will pair harmoniously with it. 

This serves 4, or two adults of light appetite and one teen boy after a long day of work.

• 1/4 head of cabbage

• 2 apples

• 1 onion 

• 4 juniper berries

• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

• 1/2 tsp coriander seed

• 1-2 tbsp bacon grease

• salt to taste

Slice the cabbage into strips about 1/4 in wide, beginning at the tip of the wedge and working horizontal to the base. Core the cabbage before slicing. Cut the apples and remove the core, then slice thinly, skins and all. Slice the onion thinly. In a mortar and pestle, grind the spices to a fine paste or powder. 

In a large skillet over med-high heat, melt the bacon grease. Once it is hot, add in the vegetables, and the spices. Stir well, then cover the pan. Stir every few minutes until cooked soft, about twenty minutes. Salt to taste.

You can increase the spices if you like, but they are just a minor note - it's the sweetness of the cabbage and apple that play so well with savory meat.

Just beginning the fry - the lid I used allowed for steam to escape, but you can do this without the lid if you don't want the end result to be at all wet.

And the end result should be tender, but not cooked to mush.