Braised Red Cabbage

The inspiration for this side dish came from... Ikea of all places!  We were there a while ago and tasted some of their Swedish braised cabbage which comes in a jar and is served either cold or warm and it was so unusual yet so tastily addictive-sort of like sweet and sour. Sweden and Germany each have their own versions of this dish but they are both very similar and I took elements of both to make this one. I was pleasantly surprised how a list of strange ingredients I wouldn't normally  put together became something so good. Be warned- it smells quite pungent while its cooking because of the vinegar but it mellows throughout the cooking and don't bother looking for the apples- they melt beautifully into the cabbage and you won't find them. This goes really well as a side dish to meat or chicken and even tastes great spread on a cracker. Enjoy!

1 Large head red cabbage, thinly sliced

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thin

1 onion, sliced

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 Tbl oil

2 whole cloves

salt and pepper

2 tsp cornstarch, optional

In a large pot place the cabbage, apples, onions and oil and let it it cook for a minute. Add the sugar, vinegar, water and cloves and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then lower the flame and let it cook covered for an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half. If you want to thicken the cabbage, mix the cornstarch with an equal amount of the liquid from the cabbage and mix it back into the pot. Cook for another 5 minutes.