Cookbook recipes: Pork Braised with Red Cabbage
Cabbage:
¼ pound chunk bacon
½ cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup sliced onions
3 tablespoons rendered pork fat or butter
2 pounds red cabbage, cut into ½-inch slices
2 cups diced tart apples
2 cloves mashed garlic
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups good, young red wine (Bordeaux or Chianti)
2 cups beef broth or stock
Salt marinade:
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground thyme or sage
1/8 teaspoon ground bay leaf
Optional: 1 clove garlic, mashed
3 pound boneless pork roast
1 tablespoon oil
1. To prepare the cabbage: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove the rind from the bacon and cut into lardons, strips about 1½ inches long and ¼ inch wide. Simmer for 10 minutes in 1 quart of water; drain and set aside.
2. Cook the bacon, carrots and onions in the fat or butter slowly in a 5-to-6-quart Dutch oven for 10 minutes without browning. Stir in the cabbage leaves and when well mixed with the fat and vegetables, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the apple, garlic, bay leaf, cloves, nutmeg, salt, pepper, wine and broth. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover and place on center oven rack. Regulate the heat if necessary so the cabbage bubbles slowly for 3 hours.
4. While the cabbage is cooking prepare the pork: Combine the salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaf and garlic. Rub into the surface of the pork, cover loosely and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.
5. After the cabbage has cooked 3 hours, brown the pork in hot oil in a skillet. Place the pork in the Dutch oven with the cabbage. Cover and return to the oven to braise about 2 hours or until the pork is done.
6. Remove the pork from the pan and drain the cabbage; keep warm. Skim the fat from the cooking liquid and boil until lightly thickened. Adjust seasonings. Carve the pork and serve with the cabbage and cooking juices.
— From "Mastering the Art of French Cooking: The 40th Anniversary Edition" by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck.