When I lived in The Netherlands and Belgium for a year and a half, one of my favorite traditional local meals included mashed potatoes with miscellaneous cooked vegetables blended together, with a side of meat.  The Dutch call this dish stamppot and it’s about as down-home delicious as ever! Some of my favorites had sauerkraut and potatoes, carrots and onions with potatoes, and endive with potatoes.

Stamppot is served with the potatoes and vegetables mashed together.  Sometimes I serve it that way, but yesterday when I cooked dinner, we mixed in our braised red cabbage for ourselves on our plates.  I absolutely love this side dish and want to share the recipe so you can try it too.

Red Cabbage with Apple and Onion

• 1/2 red cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored , cut into thin strips
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or other vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup water

I like to cook the meat first, then use the same skillet.  A package of sausage, sliced at an angle, then heated with a small amount of olive oil in the skillet until it browns, makes a very simple main course.  Remove the sausage from the skillet, then add the the cabbage, apple and onion.  Cook in the skillet until everything softens a bit.  Salt and pepper as needed.  Then add the vinegar, sugar, and water and simmer for about ten more minutes.  Makes about 8 servings.