Red cabbage + apple

• Sliced red onion and butter. You know what to do.

• Add a spoon of carraway seeds and a bay leaf. Stir and sizzle.

• Add half a shredded red cabbage and a peeled, diced apple. Stir and season. Easy on the salt. I have some delightful dried thyme from the south of France so I added a bit of that.

• After five or ten, add some red wine, stock (I used a beef stock cube in fresh tomato juice that I had accidentally made the day before), a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon or so of soft brown sugar.

• Bring to the boil, then simmer with the lid on until the cabbage is very soft. This may take an hour or so dependng on how stubborn your cabbage is.

• As always, adjust seasoning during cooking. You are looking for a flavour that is, er, nice, and you like. 

PS I relied heavily on the recipe of the lovely Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall for this. Thank Hugh!

What did it taste like? Sweet and sour, hearty but not heavy. The apple was not visually discernable, but provided its sharpness and sweetness without being obvious.
 
Tips:

1. Add your apple later if you want it to keep some firmness. Mine was pretty mushy, but I liked that as it meant the flavours had time to blend better.
2. You could go more wintry on the flavours adding a little cinnamon or clove.