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This paleo and Whole30-friendly Sweet and Sour Green Cabbage and Apple Sauté pairs well as a side dish with just about anything.
To me, other than a shamrock-wielding leprechaun sitting next to a pot of gold under a rainbow, few things in life say Happy St. Paddy’s Day more than cabbage.
And really, when it comes to comfort food in vegetable form, what’s better than buttered cabbage? Nothing I can think of, save for maybe cauliflower mash, which also ranks pretty high on the healthy comfort food scale.
Here I cooked down a ton of cabbage in a bit of nutrient-dense clarified butter. Apple cider vinegar adds the sour and sweet apples add the sweetness. A touch of ground marjoram is one of my favorite secret ingredient pairings when I make cabbage or homemade sausage, adding a delicate but distinguishable je ne sais quois.
If you have leftovers and want to reinvent them into an entirely new dish, this makes a really fantastic soup. For every 1 cup of cabbage sauté, I add about 1 1/4 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (I like chicken stock here for the richness), 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, and salt and pepper to taste; if you want a quick and easy way to bump up the protein of this soup, you could add canned white beans or browned turkey or chicken sausage.
This side dish pairs well with just about anything, from grilled or roasted chicken, to bratwurst, to pot roast, to corned beef. And don’t forget to wear something green, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day. ;)
- 2 tablespoons clarified butter/ghee (I use EatLuv)
- 1 large onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 1½ to 1¾ lbs green cabbage, sliced into thin shreds (about 8 cups sliced)
- 4 tablespoons raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup (180 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground marjoram
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 small-medium sweet apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, for garnish (optional)
- Heat the ghee in a soup pot. Add the onion and cook until softened and starting to caramelize, about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the cabbage, vinegar, water, salt, marjoram, and black pepper and cook until the cabbage is starting to wilt, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cover the pot and cook until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a splash of water as necessary if the pot gets too dry. Stir in the apple during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
- Serve with the parsley sprinkled on top, if using.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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