Cabbage is cheap, healthful and good even in the winter.  The local green markets in NYC hit a point at this time of year when they have only cabbage and collards and root vegetables and the last few squashes and apples from the autumn. My cousins took me to a green market in Los Angeles when I was working there one February a few years back.  It was overwhelming!  You could buy any fruit or vegetable you wanted, locally grown, in the middle of winter.  It was glorious and I totally enjoyed making what ever I felt like cooking BUT…..I also really enjoy eating on an extreme seasonal schedule.  It makes each vegetable a long anticipated treat to be enjoyed while it lasts.  Also, it gives me a chance to remember how much I really love the less glamourous but truely wonderful vegetables of winter.  The sad truth is, I might not choose to eat cabbage if I could get summer vegetables year round.

Weirdly, I have been craving cabbage for the last six moths or so.  Asian Coleslaw, Fennel, Apple and Red Cabbage Slaw, Sauerkraut, and Indian Spiced Cabbage  have been big treats for me even before the official cabbage season began.  I made this braised cabbage to go with the goose that we made for New Years.  The recipe (from Chez Panisse Vegetable) called for duck fat, so I used goose fat instead.     For instructions on how to cook a goose click here.  For instructions on how to roast a duck click here.  Either one will render more than enough fat for this recipe!  You can use your leftover fat to fry potatoes or make duck fat soup.  All that said, I am sure that this recipe would be good with butter or oil too!

BRAISED RED CABBAGE WITH APPLES

• 1 red cabbage outer leaves removed, halved and sliced very thin
• 1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced thin
• 3 tablespoons duck fat (I used goose fat)
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (I used cider vinegar)
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 apple

1. In a wide skillet, cook the onion in fat for 5 minutes.
2. Add the cabbage, vinegar, bay leaf, water, salt and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Peel and grate the apple.  Add to the cabbage and cook for five more minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning and serve.