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Sweet and Sour Cabbage

Served under Soy-Syrup Roasted Duck (page 142), this super-tender cabbage perfectly balances the richness of the meat. But I love it so much, I eat it on its own, too. As always with fresh cabbage, I add the juniper berries at the end to lightly perfume the dish.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup rendered duck or bacon fat
1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 (2-pound) head Savoy cabbage, cored and cut into 1-inch squares
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups dry Gewürztraminer
6 juniper berries, lightly crushed

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the fat in a large, wide saucepan over high heat until hot. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the cabbage and sprinkle with the sugar and vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender and shiny, about 3 minutes.

    Step 2

    Season with salt and pepper, then add the wine. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are so tender, they’re almost melted, about 45 minutes. There should be just a halo of liquid left in the pan.

    Step 3

    Stir in the juniper berries and serve.

Reprinted with permission from Home Cooking with Jean-Georges: My Favorite Simple Recipes by Jean-Georges Vongerichten with Genevieve Ko. Copyright © 2011 by Jean-Georges Vongerichten; photographs copyright © 2011 by John Kernick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Jean-Georges Vongerichten is one of the most influential chefs in the world, having single-handedly redefined haute French cuisine, lightening and refining it by adding select Asian accents. He is the chef-owner of dozens of restaurants in fourteen cities around the world. His flagship restaurant, Jean Georges, at New York's Columbus Circle, is one of six restaurants in the United States to have been awarded three coveted Michelin stars; it received four stars from the New York Times. The winner of multiple James Beard Foundation awards, he lives in New York City and Waccabuc, New York, with his family. Genevieve Ko is a cookbook author and the senior food editor at Good Housekeeping magazine. She has written for Martha Stewart Living, Gourmet, and Fine Cooking and lives in New York City with her family.
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