Chef Joost
Aardappelgratin
A French name, a Dutch potato, and a Sunday table: aardappelgratin is what happens when a frugal kitchen borrows richness and behaves as if it had always belonged.
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Rodekool met Appeltjes
Created by
Red cabbage, little apples, vinegar, and clove: the Dutch winter side dish that sits beside the roast quietly, then steals the memory of the meal.
Side Dishes
Dutch
Christmas
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 10 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield6 servings
In my grandmother's second notebook, rodekool met appeltjes had no decoration around it. No story written in the margin, no proud title, only the quantities, a stain of vinegar, and the instruction to make it the day before. That tells you almost everything. Some dishes arrive wearing festival clothes. This one arrives in an apron, reliable, sharp-sweet, and better after a night in the cold pantry.
The name already tells you its whole public life: rodekool, red cabbage, with appeltjes, little apples. No hidden Latin staircase today, no Arabic manuscript waiting under the plate. But let me tell you a secret: plain names are where Dutch cookery often hides its nerve. A red cabbage is frugal, yes, but then we darken it with clove and cinnamon, sharpen it with vinegar, soften it with apple, and suddenly the side dish beside the Christmas roast is carrying a small cargo of the world.
The method is old northern wisdom. Cabbage needs time, acid, and a covered pot. The vinegar keeps the colour bright and the apple melts just enough to sweeten the sharp edge without turning the pan into jam. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple: slice the cabbage fine, cook it slowly, and stop when it is tender but still has a little dignity under the tooth. Make it a day ahead if you can. Rodekool is one of those honest dishes that improves when left alone, which is a mercy in any feast-day kitchen.
Red cabbage has long belonged to the Dutch winter larder because it stores well, feeds many, and keeps its colour when cooked with acid such as vinegar or sour apple. The sweet-sour style appears across northern European cookery, but the Dutch version is marked by its use of tart apples and warm spices like clove and cinnamon, everyday heirs of the seventeenth-century spice trade. By the nineteenth and twentieth centuries it was firmly established beside hachee, pork, game, and Christmas roasts, especially as a dish made ahead because the flavour deepens overnight.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
red cabbage
Quantity
1 medium, about 900g
cored and finely sliced
tart apples
Quantity
2
peeled, cored, and diced
onion
Quantity
1 medium
finely sliced
butter
Quantity
30g
apple cider vinegar
Quantity
2 tablespoons
brown sugar or Dutch basterdsuiker
Quantity
2 tablespoons
water
Quantity
150ml
bay leaf
Quantity
1
whole cloves
Quantity
4
ground cinnamon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
fine salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
to taste
redcurrant jelly (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| red cabbagecored and finely sliced | 1 medium, about 900g |
| tart applespeeled, cored, and diced | 2 |
| onionfinely sliced | 1 medium |
| butter | 30g |
| apple cider vinegar | 2 tablespoons |
| brown sugar or Dutch basterdsuiker | 2 tablespoons |
| water | 150ml |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| whole cloves | 4 |
| ground cinnamon | 1/2 teaspoon |
| fine salt | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more to taste |
| freshly ground black pepper | to taste |
| redcurrant jelly (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy-bottomed braising pan or Dutch oven with lid
- •Sharp chef's knife or mandoline
- •Wooden spoon
Instructions
- 1
Slice the cabbage
Quarter the cabbage, cut away the hard white core, and slice the leaves as finely as you comfortably can. Thin cabbage cooks evenly and gives you that glossy, spoonable texture without becoming a dull purple heap. Peel, core, and dice the apples, then slice the onion.
- 2
Soften the onion
Melt the butter in a heavy pan over medium heat and cook the onion for five minutes until it softens but does not brown. Browning is not the point here; you want sweetness and roundness, not fried edges shouting over the cabbage.
- 3
Build the pot
Add the cabbage, apples, vinegar, brown sugar, water, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Stir well, then cover the pan. The vinegar goes in early for a reason: it helps the cabbage keep its deep red colour, so the dish stays handsome instead of sliding into grey-purple melancholy.
Count the cloves as they go in, and count them out later. A whole clove left on the plate is a very small ambush with a very long aftertaste. - 4
Braise slowly
Bring the pot to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat low and cook, covered, for about 50 to 60 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes and check that there is still a little liquid at the bottom. The cabbage should slump and turn glossy, the apple should soften into the juices, and the kitchen should smell faintly of Christmas without anyone having announced it.
- 5
Finish and rest
Remove the bay leaf and all four cloves. Taste the cabbage and adjust with a pinch of salt, a splash more vinegar, or a little redcurrant jelly if your apples were more stern than generous. Let it rest at least 10 minutes before serving, or cool it completely and refrigerate overnight. The second day is not leftovers. It is the dish finishing its sentence.
Chef Tips
- •Use a tart apple that keeps a little shape, such as Elstar, Goudreinet, Jonagold, or Braeburn. A very sweet apple makes the cabbage flat, and a mealy apple disappears before it has done its work.
- •Slice the cabbage finely. Thick strips stay tough at the rib while the edges go tired, and then everyone blames the vegetable instead of the knife.
- •Make it one day ahead for Christmas or a roast dinner. The clove settles, the vinegar softens, and the cabbage becomes more itself overnight.
- •Serve it with hachee, roast pork, goose, duck, venison, or browned sausages. It wants fat beside it, because the vinegar and apple are there to cut through richness.
Advance Preparation
- •Best made 1 day ahead; cool completely, cover, and refrigerate, then reheat gently with a splash of water.
- •Keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes well for up to 3 months, though the apple will melt further after thawing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 190g)
Calories
135 calories
Total Fat
4 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
1 g
Cholesterol
11 mg
Sodium
215 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
17 g
Protein
2 g
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