Braised Red Cabbage with Apple and Bacon

Wanted to try something different with red cabbage other than coleslaw so i turned to the worldwide web for some inspiration, after looking at a number of recipes I discovered this one and was intrigued by the addition of bacon and balsamic vinegar. As promised it was tastylicious..

ingredients

• olive oil
• 250g smoked streaky bacon, finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, bashed
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 good eating apples, peeled and chopped into 2.5cm/1 inch pieces
• 1 red cabbage, outer leaves and core removed, chopped into irregular chunks
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 150ml balsamic vinegar
• a knob of butter
• a handful of chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

method

Pour a good lug of olive oil into a saucepan, get it hot and add the bacon and fennel seeds. Cook until golden then add the onion and continue to cook, with the lid on, for a few more minutes until golden and sticky. Add the apple, followed by the cabbage chunks, salt and pepper and the vinegar, and stir everything together well. Put the lid back on and continue to cook on a low heat for an hour, checking and stirring every so often. You will end up with a gorgeously sticky-sweet cabbage dish that you’ll want to eat immediately, straight out of the pan! Or, if you can wait long enough, scoop it into a serving dish, pop the butter on top and sprinkle over the parsley.