• 1 head red cabbage (approximately 2 pounds)
• 3 medium-sized yellow onions
• 3 medium tart cooking apples, such as Granny Smith or Braeburn
• 1 large red pepper
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ cup orange juice
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• About 2 pounds precooked bratwurst or kielbasa, if desired (whichever you prefer)

Remove dark, tough outer leaves of red cabbage. Using a large French chef’s knife, cut the red cabbage in half lengthwise and then into quarters. Cut out and discard the core and coarsely shred the cabbage to yield about 12 cups of shredded cabbage. Set aside. Peel the onions and cut into thin slices. Set aside.

Peel and core the apples; cut lengthwise into ¼-inch thick slices. Remove and discard the core, seeds and inside ribs of the red pepper; cut pepper into 1/4 –inch wide strips. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar with the orange zest, salt, nutmeg, black pepper and the ground cloves.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 5-quart Dutch over or an ovenproof kettle, arrange the following layers: half the shredded cabbage, half of the sliced onions and half of the sliced apples. Sprinkle with half of the brown sugar mixture and top with half of the red pepper strips.

Layer the remaining shredded cabbage, the sliced onions and the sliced apples. Sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar mixture and top with the rest of the red pepper strips. Pour the orange juice and red wine vinegar over the vegetable mixture. Cover the Dutch oven.

Place the covered Dutch oven in the refrigerator if you don’t plan to bake the vegetable mixture immediately. If desired, the previous steps can be completed up to 24 hours before you plan to serve the dish. Increase the baking time by about 10 minutes if you start with a dish that has been refrigerated.

Bake the covered vegetable mixture for 1 hour; remove from oven. If you would like, add bratwurst or kielbasa. If using kielbasa, take a sharp knife and make ¼-inch deep slashes at 2-inch intervals in the kielbasa. Press bratwurst or kielbasa down into the vegetable mixture to partially cover with pan juices. Replace cover and bake 30 additional minutes. Make 6 servings.

Stove-Top Red Cabbage

An alternate recipe for red cabbage cooked on the stove top:

• 1 2½ pound head of red cabbage
• ¾ cup boiling water
• 3 peeled, cored, sliced cooking apples
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• ¼ cup vinegar
• 1½ teaspoons flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Dash pepper

Wash, core and shred red cabbage. Place red cabbage in a large cooking pot; add boiling water and cook, covered, for ten minutes. Add peeled, cored, sliced cooking apples; cook ten minutes or until tender. Add butter, vinegar, flour, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Heat. Makes 6 servings.